


say anything (but say what you mean)

by roommate



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M, Semi-Public Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-08
Updated: 2014-09-08
Packaged: 2018-02-16 13:59:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 37,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2272374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roommate/pseuds/roommate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The only thing that's scarier than a cockroach infestation, Kyungsoo thinks, is falling in love. (Written for coley_merrin for <a href="http://yeolliepopday.livejournal.com/27877.html">yeolliepopday 2014</a>)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [coley_merrin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/coley_merrin/gifts).



"So," Jongdae says, wiggling his eyebrows before continuing, "We all know about the new hire, right?"

"We don't," comes Kyungsoo's curt reply as he unzips his costume, then shimmies out of it the rest of the way. "Because unlike some of you, I don't have time to gossip." He had to fill in for Jongin earlier and assume the role of some weird creature in an oasis, but Jongdae had unceremoniously relegated him to the 'mysterious immovable creatures' department right before his shift started. So he just stayed rooted to his spot, spent a whole three hours standing and just staring at people – that's right – as they passed him by, and hoped they'd notice the way the looked at them, eyes wide and expression void of any emotion. It had been harder to mask boredom before, but he's already been doing this for three years. Lack of emotion is almost a default expression for him now, even in the face of something scary.

The truth is, at this point, nothing scares him shitless anymore. Aside from cockroaches, maybe. Those things are the work of the devil.

"Thank you, Kyungsoo. You are the nicest, sweetest–" Jongdae chokes when Kyungsoo slaps him hard on the arm. "–most powerful zombie in all of _Scaredy Cats_ – If you do that one more time, I swear to God I am _condemning_ you to the immovables _forever!_ "

"All bark, no bite," Kyungsoo says, humming, then hangs the costume in the closet. Jongdae kicks him in the ass, but apologizes soon after and pats the sore area gently.

The other scare givers start to return from the last shift – Sehun in his ghost costume, Baekhyun in his best imitation of Count Dracula that only makes look like a kicked puppy than anything else, and Joonmyun who is dressed in rather casual clothes, save for the messy bloodwork on his polo and legs. This is it, Kyungsoo's tiny family of scare givers, the only circle of friends he's retained from when he graduated from university and got hit by some unfortunate disease that has rendered his vocal chords weak and his dreams unreachable. Part-timers don't stay until the evening, but then that's better – less people to crowd Jongdae's office that's also the dressing room, less people to look after and pay attention to. Less people to bump into after a long day spent trying to scare the living daylights out of scare takers.

"As I was saying, _the new hire,_ " Jongdae reiterates. "He's coming in tomorrow. Please treat him nicely."

Baekhyun shoots Kyungsoo a look that more or less says _oh, you don't have to worry about us, Jongdae. Kyungsoo, however–_ , so he nudges Baekhyun with his elbow even before Baekhyun can open his mouth to speak. Jongdae gives Kyungsoo a big smile, then says, "And I'm assigning you to train him." Baekhyun's crazy grin dissolves into laughter and he starts slapping Kyungsoo on the lap, so Kyungsoo pushes him aside until Baekhyun falls on Sehun (and Sehun rams his feet into Joonmyun, and Jongdae just shakes his head at them and mumbles, _kids._ ).

"Why me? Why not…" Kyungsoo looks around, the points at Joonmyun. "Joonmyun-hyung's more patient with students. If you want the new kid to resign on his first day, sure, give him to me–"

"You're the best scare giver we've got," Jongdae replies, smiling. "Please?"

"But–"

"No buts," Jongdae says with finality, then snakes an arm around Kyungsoo. He gives Kyungsoo's arm a light squeeze, and Kyungsoo only frowns all the more, the downward pull on the corners of his lips straining his cheeks. "Besides, it's been a while since you last partnered up with anyone. Joonmyun-hyung's already got his arms full just making sure Baekhyun and Sehun don't screw up."

"We heard that!" comes muffled voices from the floor. And then another– "Don't worry, we're alright! Just tangled on the floor, nothing unusual!"

_There's a reason why I do this scaring thing alone,_ Kyungsoo wants to say, but Jongdae has long left in favor of addressing the pile of humans on the floor. Gingerly, he helps Baekhyun up, then pinches Baekhyun in his side before Baekhyun could walk away.

Confession time: ants actually scare the shit out of him when they attack in large groups. Also, massive groups of people.

Ultimately, having to place his complete trust in someone he hardly knows and trust that everything will work out just fine.

☹ ☹ ☹

'New Guy' turns up at work early the following day – eight in the morning, an hour earlier than the usual clock in time. "I'm impressed," Jongdae says, and New Guy looks at him (down at him; he's too tall, like he's 90% limbs and 10% everything else) with a huge grin on his lips. "If the others actually came in early then maybe we could have a theme park in the morning, _then_ transform it to a horror house in the afternoon!"

"Too much work. And shouldn't it be the other way around?" Kyungsoo mumbles, slipping past the small space between the door and New Guy. He makes a beeline for his make-up case, then checks the schedule on the board. "I don't have a morning scaredule?"

"Hah! Funny! _Scaredule,_ " New Guy blurts out, and Kyungsoo looks at him with wide eyes. There's a thick blanket of silence for a while and, when Kyungsoo looks at Jongdae, there's the same brand of surprise in the way Jongdae cocks an eyebrow at New Guy. "Whoops, sorry. Is that… what you call your scaring shifts?"

New Guy has big eyes that almost pop out of their sockets when he widens them, shifting between looking at Kyungsoo and at Jongdae in search of an answer. Jongdae keeps it in much longer, does that thing where he sort of chews on his bottom lip and the inside of his cheek and looks at anything but the person he's supposed to be talking to, and Kyungsoo keeps blinking, like that will make New Guy retract his statement and maybe summon a hole in the ground that can eat him up. Maybe he'd get stuck somewhere in the middle, what with his long legs and all – he probably won't fit in the caskets they use for the final leg of the scare journey. He probably won't fit in any of the costumes at all.

Jongdae cackles after a while, finally losing it, and envelops New Guy in a hug like they've know each other for a long time already. But then that's just how Jongdae is – extremely touchy, be it with people (living or dead) or things, _especially things._ He gets strangely attached to props that need to be disposed, claiming that they have already carved a fond memory in his heart. In reality, he just wants to make profit out of them, but then who likes old, rickety things that can only be used in horror houses? The value disintegrates along with the spirits.

Working in a horror house requires a twisted sense of humor and home. Desperation and boredom also work.

"Oh yeah, introductions," Jongdae says now, quickly gesturing for Kyungsoo to come over. "Kyungsoo, this is Park Chanyeol. As you already know, he's new and you'll be teaching him to make people shit in their pants." Jongdae grins, canines peeking, and Chanyeol furrows his eyes a little but keeps his smile intact. "Chanyeol, this is Do Kyungsoo, our best scare giver here in the house. He bites from time to time, but don't be afraid – he's actually a cute lil' pug on the inside."

"I'm not a pug," Kyungsoo grumbles, but turns to Chanyeol with a small smile anyway. "Pleasure to meet you. Jongdae couldn't stop talking about you yesterday."

"Oh?" There's a hint of amusement in the way Chanyeol's eyes light up, almost twinkling. The pale green of his sweater softens the sharp angles of his face, and his hair bounces a little when he laughs. He looks like one of those male protagonists in an anime or manhwa, or even one of those princes he used to see in Lotte World of Everland. Kyungsoo can't picture him in a zombie outfit at all.

"Are you sure about this?" he whispers in Jongdae's ear much later, while Chanyeol tries out some of the costumes in the closet, and Jongdae only chuckles and ruffles his hair.

"A hundred percent sure," Jongdae replies, grinning. "Possibly the best decision I've ever made."

☹ ☹ ☹

Chanyeol isn't that bad – he's a pretty average scare giver, but it's mostly because he can tweak his voice such that he sounds like someone from the underworld. "It was the talent I showed when I applied. Pretty cool, huh?" he even brags, and Kyungsoo laughs through his nose and feels his throat constrict with something that shouldn't be laughter.

"Would be better if you could actually scare little Jonginnie there," Kyungsoo says, and Chanyeol frowns at him before assuming his place behind Jongin again, crouched low and hands behind his back just like they've practiced.

Jongin isn't exactly the easiest person to scare – that would be Zitao, but he's on leave for the next two weeks, visiting his parents in China for the first time in two years, or was he going on a vacation in Japan? – but he's the closest to ZItao that they can practice on. Jongin is jumpy, as far as startling someone goes, and has the craziest reactions when he's scared out of his skin, so Kyungsoo instructs Chanyeol to creep up to him in three simple steps – one, slide a hand up his back, then grip his shoulder really tight; two, pull his shoulder back until they're face to face; and three, lean in dangerously close and look at Jongin with wide eyes until Jongin screams his lungs out. Chanyeol always seems to have a hard time keeping the whole scaring act together and cracks up as soon as he sees Jongin's face, but at least Jongin threatened to punch him in the face when Chanyeol whispered _boo_ in his ears.

Chanyeol completes the process this time, except he starts laughing as soon as he sees Jongin's eyes go wide and his nostrils even bigger. "Fuck you! I'm not some dummy you can practice on!" Jongin exclaims, slapping Chanyeol's arm repeatedly, then makes a beeline for Kyungsoo as soon as he sees Kyungsoo peeking from a corner. "You, too! I trusted you, Soo! _You traitor!_ "

Kyungsoo ducks and Jongin almost runs into the wall. He makes his way to where Chanyeol is – still on the floor, slapping the tiles with each sliver of laughter that slips from his lips – and pats his shoulder. "Okay, that was good. He was close to being scared shitless," he says, rubbing Chanyeol's arm until Chanyeol's laughing fit comes to a halt. Chanyeol is still wheezing, though, when he resurfaces, beads of tears at the corners of his eyes. He looks like one of those Line characters who always has his eyes crossed while laughing his ass off, except he's actually real and his head is rested on Kyungsoo's shoulder.

Kyungsoo tries hard not to jerk. Chanyeol's fluffy hair is in his face and it's becoming increasingly hard to breathe with the tuft blocking air's way.

"You should've seen his face–" Chanyeol's close to crying now, it's almost hilarious. Kyungsoo leans back, giving Chanyeol more space, but Chanyeol only follows. "His nostrils were so big, I could almost see his nose hair–"

"That's gross, Chanyeol."

"But that's the look of fear!" Chanyeol looks up now, and from this distance or the lack, thereof, Kyungsoo can see the tiny freckles on his cheeks, the pimples lined along the side of his nose. He makes a mental note to teach Chanyeol proper ghost make-up application; Chanyeol could learn a thing or two about that. "Your worst, ugliest face possible, the kind that you don't want people to ever take a picture of–"

Chanyeol has his arms on either side of Kyungsoo, and Kyungsoo exhales through the tiny opening of his mouth – slow, gradual, like he's savoring every last breath he has and counting down until Chanyeol pulls away and stands from where he is. Chanyeol doesn't, though, just stays there and leans even closer to tap Kyungsoo's nose with his finger thrice. Chanyeol says something that sounds a lot like, "And that's close enough to fear," but Kyungsoo can just be hearing things, really. He's always had difficulty hearing sounds properly at such close proximity.

"You were missing the running away part," Kyungsoo says after a while, then tears his gaze from Chanyeol. He looks at his shoes, then Chanyeol's own – they're worn out around the edges, but the body of the shoes isn't as tattered. "That's very important because we have to lead the scare takers to the next room."

Chanyeol snorts, leans back until he's sitting on his ass, then looks at Kyungsoo in the eye. "Okay," he says, simple and curt, and gives Kyungsoo a long look before standing from where he is. His hand looks imposing when he extends it in Kyungsoo's direction, but Kyungsoo takes it, anyway, holds onto it as he tries to get up from being seated on the floor.

Chanyeol's fingers wrap around his tiny fist before he can drop is hand to his side. Chanyeol's fingers are cold – from laughing too much or from working too hard to scare someone, Kyungsoo can't exactly tell – and Chanyeol keeps his hold on him long enough to transfer some of that cool brand of warmth to seep through Kyungsoo's skin.

There's a tingling sensation in his nose, in the part that Chanyeol had touched earlier, like a nagging sneeze you can't get rid of.

☹ ☹ ☹

By the time the start of the evening session hits, Chanyeol has already made friends with almost all of the scare givers. Joonmyun isn't exactly the most difficult of people to deal with, but Chanyeol has made Joonmyun feel comfortable enough to exchange hugs with him at every possible time. Jongin, who initially wanted to maim Chanyeol the first chance he got, had somehow warmed up to Chanyeol as well, discussing Fire Emblem at length with him over their afternoon snack. Then there's Sehun asking for a portion of Chanyeol's muffin nicely, something that Jongdae has never been able to achieve. So Kyungsoo walks up to Jongdae, hands on his hips as he asks, "Where exactly did you find him?"

"See, that's the thing – I didn't. He found me," Jongdae replies in that dramatic tone of his that he wishes he used in musical performances at amusement parks and not in horror houses. "Well, I'd like to think of it that way. It hadn't even been three hours since I put up the job opening and he already sent his application." He snaps his fingers. "Just like that. Magic."

" _Where_ did you find him?" he asks again, an eyebrow cocked this time. Jongdae leans back, propping his arms under his back.

Jongdae takes a deep breath before looking around them and pulling Kyungsoo closer. Jongdae has always loves making a movie out of every scene of his life. Must be part of his frustration to be a movie or a musical actor, or maybe Jongdae just really loves theatrics for the aesthetics of it. "He's a friend. From way way back," Jongdae whispers after a while, then looks at Chanyeol over Kyungsoo's shoulder. "We sorta go way back, Chanyeol and I."

" _Sorta go way back_ is pretty vague."

" _Sorta go way back_ is all you have to know." Jongdae winks to punctuate his statement, then twirls on his heel before turning to the other scare gives. "Okay, you guys, get ready now. Evening session starts in ten minutes! Get ready!"

Soon, the comfortable noise dissipates, and Kyungsoo's left alone in the room, with Chanyeol halfway out the door. "You're heading out for your shift, right?" Chanyeol asks in that steady, soothing deep voice of his, and Kyungsoo briefly forgets that he's in a horror house, that he works here and that he's supposed to be retouching his make-up for tonight's zombie attack. With a deep breath, he pushes himself off the desk and takes big strides to the door, catching up with Chanyeol.

"You'll be watching from the big head tonight," he says as they walk to the control room. From the reflection in the mirror, he can see the small smile on Chanyeol's lips. "I want you to pay attention even to the smallest details, okay? The slight crack of the head, the stutter in the steps–"

"The vacant stare and soulless eyes, yes," Chanyeol continues, laughing a little. "I've been listening, _sonsaengnim~_ "

"Shut up," Kyungsoo grumbles. "The walls are thin. The scare takers on the other side will hear you."

But the walls are thick – they've been thick for as long as Kyungsoo can remember, since the horror house's inception – and so is the enthusiasm in the undertone of Chanyeol's voice as he says, "Ah, they're here! This is exciting!" So he takes a step to his side, away from Chanyeol, and keeps a thin sheet of _something_ between them, anything to keep Chanyeol's low, velvety tone from wrapping around his mind and drowning out the voices in his head, the small scare devices he uses to make freaking people out more effective.

He slips his compact powder back in his pocket and cracks his neck as they stop in front of the door to the zombie zoo. Chanyeol has fallen silent now, but the grin on his lips is still as big as ever and there's still a glimmer in his eyes. _What is wrong with you?_ Kyungsoo wants to ask, but there's work to be done, people to be freaked out, and a scare student to be taught, so he takes a deep breath and turns the knob, then looks over his shoulder. "Watch."

Chanyeol gives him a thumbs-up and a close-lipped smile, and Kyungsoo feels this weird, sinking sensation at the pit of his stomach. He can't be possibly scared of being in a horror house anymore. He's been doing this for years and yet he can feel a foreign brand of cold wrap around his fingers, around his throat.

Chanyeol's only been here for a day and yet he looks so calm and at ease with the whole horror scene. "I'll keep my eyes on you," he says after a while, then winks. "No one else."

"Pop quiz tomorrow," is the only thing Kyungsoo manages to say before pushing the door open. He doesn't look over his shoulder, doesn't look back, and shuts the door behind him as soon as he can, letting his hand drop from the knob at the first sound of the soft 'thud'.

☹ ☹ ☹

Half past seven in the morning is an ungodly hour to be on the way to work, but Kyungsoo does it, anyway – day in and day out, just to avoid the early morning ruckus. He usually spends an entire hour to properly boot his brain, after all, and the walk from the bus station to the horror house speeds up the process by a good ten minutes. The erratic rains of summer make the walk a chore more than anything else, though, so today Kyungsoo comes in in rain boots and a raincoat at least two sizes bigger than him. It's a comfortable enough fit, unlike the raincoat he borrowed from Joonmyun in the past.

He turns a corner and speeds up his pace when rain stars pouring down harder. He makes it to the back door of the office, and quickly takes shelter in the shed as he rummages through his things for the keys. He's the only one Jongdae trusts enough to give a spare key to; it's not as if the others have actually expressed interest in coming in early, after all.

"Hey," comes a low voice to his right, and he jumps at the sound. When he turns to his side, Chanyeol's laughing lightly, hand cupped over his mouth. "Not a morning person, huh?"

"There's a reason why I work in a horror house," Kyungsoo mumbles, then fixes his attention back to the knob. He slips the key in and unlocks the office, then gestures for Chanyeol to come in. "Just leave the umbrella in the rack; no one will steal that."

"Didn't even cross my mind," Chanyeol admits. He gives Kyungsoo a curt nod as he walks past him, then dries his rubber shoes on the floor mat. "Yours gets stolen a lot?"

Kyungsoo shrugs. He can't bring himself to snort just yet; he hasn't even had his coffee yet but Chanyeol's already making him think. It's criminal. "Only by Baekhyun, although he calls it 'borrowing my things'."

Chanyeol laughs, but he doesn't look up at Kyungsoo. Instead, his eyes are fixed on his shoelaces as he works on them, slipping out of his soaked shoes. "He does have a point, you know. I mean–" Chanyeol wiggles his toes, completely dry, and slips into his slippers. "It's not really stealing if you see him on a daily basis and there's a chance that he'll return it?"

Kyungsoo slumps against the wall in a corner and closes his eyes. "I'm not awake enough for this, Chanyeol." A deep breath, then, "wake me up when the other start coming in."

Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees Chanyeol nod, and he wills himself to regain the energy he'd just spent talking to Chanyeol at an early hour.

He doesn't rouse until thirty minutes later, when he hears the sound of something falling and realizes that it's just Chanyeol accidentally kicking something in his sleep, body jerking mid-slumber. He motions to stand, pushing himself off the bench, but the jacket that slips down his arms catches his attention. It's the one Chanyeol was wearing earlier under the windbreaker. Chanyeol hadn't looked particularly comfortable with the cold, and yet there his jacket was, draped over Kyungsoo instead of himself.

"Silly kid," Kyungsoo whispers as he gets up, then places it on Chanyeol, movements small and careful so as to not wake the other up. Chanyeol chews on air and mumbles something Kyungsoo can't seem to make out, so he leaves him be and begins to make his way to Jongdae's office. Jongdae made a few last-minute changes last night before sending them home, and while Kyungsoo doesn't have the worst memory, his information retention is shit past ten in the evening. He remembers his scaredule being kept light in the morning so he can run Chanyeol through a few scare routines, but the evening shift will be packed as always – zombie zoo is always a hit in the evening, especially on weekdays. He can't say he minds, though – having a packed schedule helps to keep him from thinking too much.

He did that a lot, back in his old job as a trainee in a talent agency – he was always thinking about his appearance, whether he sounded good enough of not, if he was actually improving and had a chance to debut despite the equally talented competition. If his voice was enough to carry him through and make him emerge at the top. Now, as a scare giver in Scaredy Cats, he doesn't have to think about being the perfect idol and making everyone like him. Here, he only has to find the perfect timing to launch an attack at a scare taker and give everyone the scare of their lives.

He looks up at the board and scoffs. He'll be taking the early morning rounds and cleaning schedule, and then he'll have a couple of sessions with Chanyeol in the morning. Chanyeol's schedule is mostly empty, save for the notes on the sessions he'll be taking with Kyungsoo, then the very last scare stint in the evening. This is like the calm before the storm, Kyungsoo thinks, where Jongdae gives him the relatively light stuff before dumping work on him, but then training Chanyeol _is_ supposed to be part of the storm – it's more difficult to act human than pretend to be dead.

"I hope you're okay with the schedule," comes Jongdae's voice from behind, and Kyungsoo only flashes two thumbs up in response before slipping from Jongdae's office. He'll need more time to calibrate himself for human interaction. He's been doing this his whole life, but still hasn't mastered its art.

Kyungsoo starts his morning session by taking a garbage bag with him and dragging Chanyeol to the exits from the holding room. Day two means he'll have to learn the secret passages, pathways that link one section of the horror house to the other. It also means more talking for Kyungsoo and the promise of compensatory coffee from Jongdae later.

"So we have three exits from our room – the horror harbor – right?" Kyungsoo says, then pauses to check if Chanyeol's listening. Chanyeol nods, then shifts his gaze from one door to the next. "The door on your right leads you to the start of the fright train, while the one in the middle leads you to the loco lobby. That's where Joonmyun-hyung and Baekhyun usually are." He gestures for Chanyeol to move to the leftmost door, then turns the knob tentatively. "And this leads straight to the control room."

"The one near the zombie zoo, right?" Chanyeol asks, then scrunches his nose. Kyungsoo nods in response and opens the door, holding it open until Chanyeol gets inside. "The room behind the big face that's actually the marker for the zombie zoo, I mean?"

"Yeah, that one," Kyungsoo affirms. He still remembers the look on Chanyeol's face when the scrambled out of the big head, stretching his arms over his head. _"It's a big head for tiny people!"_ Chanyeol had said then, and Kyungsoo recalls nudging Chanyeol in his side with his elbow. So it's not Chanyeol's being alert and good with directions that's at work; it's the trauma of muscle memory making his mind machine work at this hour.

"Two paths from there – you can go left to the 'backyard' where the Sehun usually lurks, or right to the area just between the zoo and the loco lobby." Kyungsoo presses his lips thinly, furrowing his eyebrows as he tries to recall the other sections of the horror house. "Just beyond the 'backyard' is the oasis. That's where Jongin scares the shit out of people."

"Oh yeah? What does he do?"

"Lies in bed with them in a well-lit place. Paradise, even," Kyungsoo begins. Chanyeol cocks an eyebrow at him, muttering, _huh_ , and Kyungsoo continues, "But he gets in the sheets in ghost costume. Complete with the red contact lenses."

"Shit. That's freaky." Chanyeol shakes his head. "I'm never pulling a prank on him again, _ever!_ "

But Chanyeol does, just before Jongin exits through the backyard – Kyungsoo watches as Chanyeol lies flat on his stomach and waits until Jongin's in front of him before grabbing Jongin by the ankles. Jongin jerks, screams, and starts kicking around, and Chanyeol doesn't even mind it when he takes a few blows to his arms. "I am going to deal with you later–" Jongin says through gritted teeth, jabbing Chanyeol lightly on the arm. Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow at Jongin, and Jongin grumbles before continuing, "–hyung!"

"I'm very, very scared!" Chanyeol teases, and Jongin only sticks out his tongue at Chanyeol in response. Chanyeol blows a kiss his way and Jongin ducks, lips still poised in a scowl when he exits the backyard and makes his way to the oasis. Kyungsoo stays rooted in his spot – behind the supposedly dead bushes, on his knees, shaking his head as he watches Jongin leave.

"How was it?" Chanyeol asks, wiggling his eyebrows in question. His lips are stretched wide in a grin, and the corners of his eyes crinkle.

Kyungsoo's stomach lurches. "Not bad."

"I'll do better," Chanyeol promises, locking his arms behind his back, and Kyungsoo lets him walk ahead, a few good steps in front of him. This is a test to see if Chanyeol can find his way back without Kyungsoo to guide him, a test to see if Chanyeol knows the horror house well enough despite having started only 48 hours ago, if he's good enough to be left alone and work on his own scare tactics. They reach the fork, and Chanyeol looks to both his left and his right before looking over his shoulder. "I'm kidding; I'll get lost in this maze."

"Straight ahead," Kyungsoo whispers. Chanyeol nods and resumes in his steps, dauntless, like he hadn't just admitted not knowing where to go earlier. _Strange kid,_ Kyungsoo says to himself, and laughs at the print on Chanyeol's shirt – big and bright letters spelling out 'NO FEAR'.

Everybody has fears, even knights and heroes and ordinary people who are crazy enough to delve into wild adventures. It's those who claim that they're not afraid of anything who have the greatest of fears, the most remorseless of ghosts.

☹ ☹ ☹

Chanyeol's first full scare stint happens on a Thursday, during the last scare journey of the night. He's been assigned to the zombie zoo today, and Jongdae had specifically told Kyungsoo to make sure Chanyeol doesn't get maimed by the scare takers. "Fair warning: they can get more violent than Jongin," Jongdae had said then, and Chanyeol had this weird mix of worry and fear and excitement on his features that soon dissolved into laughter – choked laughter.

Kyungsoo wiggles his fingers before stepping inside the box he usually hides in. He hasn't partnered with anyone since Jongdae retired from fright duties and focused on making sure everything went smoothly, and he hasn't really had the need to seek anyone's help freaking anyone out. _You're a natural, the best scare giver ever,_ he remembers Jongdae telling him one time. _Like you're so used to dealing with fear and knowing what makes feel the same fear that courses through your veins._ It's not easy, though – one has to let fear consume him first, then translate it into body language, like a twitch of the eye or a quirk of the lip or the slow rise of the shoulders, the gradual widening of eyes. Small actions that elicit big emotions, stir the strongest storms inside people.

Humans respond to fear with their own brand of fear, as well, after all. And after that, the adrenaline rush that flushes fear out of your system – two negatives making a positive.

"Are we supposed to make the boxes move a little at first?" Chanyeol asks before crouching inside the box. He's too tall for it, and the tuft of his hair still peeks from the top of the box, so Kyungsoo quicks mumbles 'yes' before pushing Chanyeol further down. "Hey, I can't breathe–"

"Be quiet. They'll be here anytime–"

"But how will I know if they're already here if I can't see a thing?"

Kyungsoo furrows his eyebrows and looks for holes in Chanyeol's box, but he ends up with nothing. Rolling his eyes, he gets out of his box and kicks Chanyeol's own. "Let's switch boxes," he says, albeit grudgingly, and Chanyeol blinks up at him. "I said, let's switch boxes. Mine's bigger than yours."

"How will _you_ know if they're already here, then?"

"Stop thinking about things too much. _Jesus–_ " He grabs Chanyeol by the wrist, yanking at it to get Chanyeol out of the fit he's gotten himself in. "Just feel the fear and embrace it, then do what your body tells you to."

What Chanyeol does, however, is to trip when he tries to get out of the box, at the same time that the people start coming in. He looks at Kyungsoo with wide eyes and light movement of the lips, mouthing, _h-e-l-p!,_ and Kyungsoo squints at him before kicking the side of his leg. "Crawl," Kyungsoo instructs, lying flat on the ground now, and Chanyeol matches his pace, slow and steady forward movements that are timed with the footsteps of the scare takers. Kyungsoo takes a deep breath, keeps his eyes locked on the people and waits – for the right moment, for fear to rush up his arms, his veins, his whole body, for the background music to grow louder and drown out the other voices in his head. One of the scare takers takes a step forward, less than a foot from them now, and Kyungsoo reaches out, cold fingers wrapping around the person's ankle.

The first shriek makes him smirk; the forward motion of the leg gives him the rush he needs. "Now," he whispers to Chanyeol, and Chanyeol gets up, stutters in his movement like an awkward zombie, and the entire group starts screaming and running around. One of them runs into Chanyeol and falls to the ground, and another points at Kyungsoo with an accusing finger and Kyungsoo crawls closer and slowly gets up, dragging one foot behind him for effect. It's Chanyeol low groans that drive them to the next room, though, out of the zombie zoo and into the backyard where Sehun waits for his victims.

The eerie red light softens, and white light mixes with the warm hues. Chanyeol falls flat on his back, laughing lightly as he says, "That was fun!"

Kyungsoo dusts himself off and bends his knees, trying to feel his joints again. "Pretty good, if I may say so myself," he comments, and Chanyeol's eyes light up. _That's not how zombies look,_ he wants to say, but he feels his throat constricting, tightening at nothing and everything that he wants to say. His fingers are colder than ever, and his stomach is turning again, and there's a familiar feeling clawing at his chest. It feels a lot like fear, but not the brand that they sell here in the horror house by the screams; it's the kind of fear that makes his toes tingle and tickles his nose.

"I just gave someone the scare of his life," Chanyeol says, loud and proud, and quickly clasps a hand over his mouth when he realizes that _oh, the walls are thin – they'll hear us on the other side._ Kyungsoo shakes his head and chuckles, then extends a hand in Chanyeol's direction. When Chanyeol takes it, cold fingers wrapping around Kyungsoo's equally frozen and numb ones, he pulls Kyungsoo down and erupts into a peal of laughter.

"I think I've figured out one of your fears," Chanyeol whispers, but Kyungsoo can't tell if it's actually Chanyeol's voice that he's hearing or the loud thumping of Chanyeol's chest where half of his face is pressed close to. He doesn't reply, doesn't look up at Chanyeol, but he does give Chanyeol's leg a light kick. It's not falling that he's afraid of; it's the resounding 'thud' in his ears that makes him realize how hard he's fallen that cripples him in fear.

☹ ☹ ☹

Kyungsoo runs into Chanyeol in the mall on a Saturday, while trying to balance three paper bags' worth of groceries in his arms. "You need help with those?" is Chanyeol's greeting that almost goes unnoticed, and Kyungsoo has to crane his neck, vision breezing past the tower of grocery bags and locking onto Chanyeol's eyes. It not a chore, really, having to carry these items all the way to the bus stop, but with the rain pouring outside and him only having two arms instead of three, he decides to relent and let Chanyeol take one of the paper bags.

Without the bags shielding his eyes, he can see Chanyeol more clearly now – dressed in jumper shorts that reveal all fifty feet of his legs, and a bright yellow shirt that brightens up his face even more. The dark circles under his eyes are more pronounced today, though, unlike how they usually are during weekdays, but maybe that's because there's no make-up to cover the scars of sleepless nights on Chanyeol's face.

A bright, red pimple on Chanyeol's cheek glares down at Kyungsoo. He takes a deep breath, then asks, "What's with the outfit?"

"Part-time work at Seungjin Toy," Chanyeol replies, chuckling as he ends. He pulls at the hem of his shorts with his free hand, then gives up when he sees people giving him funny looks. "Pretty fun, to be honest. I get to play Just Dance 4 with kids who want to try out the game."

"Oh, you mean part-time _play_ at Seungjin Toy," Kyungsoo teases. Chanyeol raises an eyebrow at him, but there's a small smile playing on his lips. "You get free games there?"

Chanyeol frowns. "Not the part-timers, but the regulars do. After earning a certain number of points, at least, because we rotate in tasks." Chanyeol pulls at his shorts again, then groans when one side ends up riding up all the more. "So I'm entertaining kids for the first two weeks. After that, I move to the selling-to-the-adults department."

Kyungsoo snorts. "You'll probably sell a lot. You seem to love playing games."

"Only the interesting ones," Chanyeol says, grinning. Kyungsoo looks over his shoulder – the rain's pouring much harder now. Perfect timing. "You should probably wait for the rain to stop."

Letting the rain pass means letting the poultry sit in the paper bags for an extended period time and trying to come up with something mildly interesting to talk about with Chanyeol. He doesn't know Chanyeol well enough to gauge his interest in things – it's only been a week since Chanyeol was hired to be a scare giver, only a week since Kyungsoo had started teaching him the ways of the spook. Chanyeol hasn't even mastered the art of scaring people down to the bones yet, doesn't even have the secret pathways memorized yet. If Kyungsoo does decide to let the rain pass, he'll only be creating a storm in the tiny space between him and Chanyeol. It's not the best idea.

"Can't. I have poultry in the bag," Kyungsoo says, cocking his head in the direction of said bag. Chanyeol scoffs and rolls his eyes. "I'm serious, I've got chicken here. I can't let them–"

"There's always the package counter," Chanyeol answers. He's grinning again, canines peeking from the corners. The corners of his eyes lift, wrinkling just a little. "Or my car. Yeah, I can probably drop you off or something. Can't possibly leave you traveling with all those paper bags..." Chanyeol scrunches his nose, like he's actually considering taking Kyungsoo home for the sake of Kyungsoo's dead chicken. Kyungsoo gulps hard. "Where do you live?"

"Somewhere far," Kyungsoo quickly replies. He takes the paper bag Chanyeol is holding, then says, "Seriously, you don't have to do this."

Chanyeol waves him off and reaches over to ruffle his hair. "What's a ride to whereverland? C'mon, tell me. Bokjeong? Yangji?" He worries his bottom lip again, and Kyungsoo's mildly concerned about that nasty red cut on the flesh. "Gwangju's my limit, though, but if you live near the horror house– Nah, probably not. Why would you be in Garden5 if you lived down south–"

"Chanyeol," Kyungsoo interrupts, then kicks Chanyeol's leg the bring him back to the conversation. Chanyeol's eyes are wide open now, fixed on him and no one else, and Kyungsoo can almost see himself reflected in Chanyeol's eyes. He swallows for a while, almost choking on his own spit before admitting, "Bokjeong. But seriously, I'll live."

"I won't require you to talk. You can even pick the music." Chanyeol bumps his hips into Kyungsoo's, and Kyungsoo only leers at him. " _Come on..._ "

There really isn't a reason to say no aside from his dead chicken having to stay warm in the paper bags for an extended period of time, so he shrugs, rolls his eyes, exhales loudly before he says, Okay. Fine. Thank you." Chanyeol's features light up with _something_ , the corners of his lips tugging up too abruptly and his eyes turning into slits. Kyungsoo is left with nothing to do but to watch Chanyeol walk, leading the way to the parking, throwing him occasional glances over his shoulder.

His stomach lurches. It's only been an hour since he's had lunch, and coffee time isn't until two hours after. It's probably the air conditioning being turned up too high at the peak of heavy rains, or maybe all the cold items in the paper bag slowly attacking him. Or maybe it's Chanyeol's easy confidence and his being more _alive_ than most people that makes Kyungsoo's stomach turn, makes him tremble, shakes him up and leaves the sting of fear clawing at his chest. He shakes his head and keeps his eyes on Chanyeol, careful not to lose him, and doesn't forget to thank Chanyeol again when he finally gets in his car. It's warmer here, inside, yet his fingers are still cold; the sweat trickling down his cheeks even colder.

"Buckle up," Chanyeol says, _commands,_ his voice grabbing Kyungsoo by the wrist and making him follow. He hands Kyungsoo his iPod and starts the engine, then turns his hazard lights on as he exits his parking spot.

Kyungsoo balls his free hand into a fist, then goes through Chanyeol's playlists with his other. Rain begins to pelt down on the glass of the car and Chanyeol starts humming, like this music is enough for the trip. Kyungsoo hits 'play', nonetheless, and drowns himself in Chanyeol's music. Chanyeol's velvety tone still soars above all the noise.

☹ ☹ ☹

Chanyeol has a story attached to every song that comes up. Every Jason Mraz song is for his past love back in college, and most of Gavin DeGraw's songs are dedicated to his lowest points in his life – getting a failing mark in a quiz for the very first time, consequently getting a spank on his ass to make him repent, and nearly missing the required GPA so he could graduate with Latin honors. "It just doesn't look like it, but I almost graduated with top honors," Chanyeol explains now as they pass a playground. "If I didn't get a low grade for Accounting then I probably would have gotten a better GPA."

"Pressure from parents?" Kyungsoo asks, faint, almost tentative. Chanyeol shrugs in response.

"Both from my parents and myself," Chanyeol answers after a while. The percussion for Sam Smith's song fades out, and Chanyeol pulls over when Kyungsoo points at a building. "This is it?"

Kyungsoo's officetel building isn't the most striking of establishments, even being sandwiched between an commercial building and another officetel, but it's easy to spot with the bright yellow exterior. Even in the gloomy weather, the building pops out like pictures in a storybook for children. Kyungsoo smiles a little when he sees Chanyeol tilt his head to get a better look at the building, then mouths _wow_ while he nods. "Doesn't look like a place a guy working in a horror house would live in."

"I actually like bright colors," Kyungsoo retorts, and Chanyeol snorts. "On furniture. Clothes, not so much." He reaches for the paper bags at the back, then turns to Chanyeol. "So yeah, this is my stop."

There's a tentative smirk on the curve of Chanyeol's lips before he breaks into light laughter, eyebrows furrowed as he turns off the engine. "I can't just leave you with your paper bags. You might trip on your way up." He snatches one bag from Kyungsoo's grasp, then says, "Lemme complete the mission so I can level up, c'mon."

Kyungsoo really isn't the type to let people order him around or have his way with him, but he doesn't really have a choice now, does he, when Chanyeol's already on the other side of the car? He doesn't really have a choice now that Chanyeol is tapping his foot, saying, "You're not going to make me wait out here, are you?" With a deep breath, he steps out of the car, bags in tow, and takes quick steps to the entrance of the building. Chanyeol follows, still humming the Jason Mraz song from a few stoplights back. There's a bounce in his step.

☹ ☹ ☹

Somewhere between reaching for his keys in his pocket and actually opening the door, Chanyeol convinces Kyungsoo to let him in.

"I'll help with putting these in the cupboard," Chanyeol says, taking some of the instant noodles. He shuffles them inside in neat stacks, bowls facing front. Kyungsoo chuckles – maybe keeping Chanyeol around for when he has to put his grocery in its proper place isn't so bad, even if the rain has already begun to pour harder.

"You probably part-time in the supermarket, too," Kyungsoo casually mentions, and Chanyeol's fingers tremble. Chanyeol's laughter is faint, almost inaudible, but the shaking of his shoulders isn't. "Are you?"

Chanyeol turns on his heel and leans against the counter. Kyungsoo can see the dark spots of water on Chanyeol's shirt, the bands of his sleeves, his collar. There's still some on his bangs; Chanyeol simply blows at them and wrinkles his nose when the droplets fall on his eyes. "Nah, I can't pull off having two part-times on top of the scare job."

Kyungsoo snorts. "Yeah, it can be draining," he replies. He checks and double-checks the last paper bag on the desk, then turns to Chanyeol once he's sure its been emptied. "Happy so far?"

Chanyeol looks up at the ceiling, like there's something really interesting about the emptiness of it or how it's painted a nice, clean white. In this lighting – softer than that in the horror house but not any brighter than the early morning light – Chanyeol looks more human than zombie even if he's working two jobs. Kyungsoo keeps his eyes on him, watching as Chanyeol's eyes flit from one empty space to another, as a corner of Chanyeol's lips quirks up, then down, then back up. There's an answer written on the curve of his lips, but Kyungsoo knows better than to put words in people's mouths. So he waits – for the standstill to be broken, for Chanyeol to resurface, for the bright grin that he's come to grown accustomed to seeing on Chanyeol's lips to appear again.

"Very," Chanyeol whispers after a while. He taps one foot lightly, then looks back down at Kyungsoo. "Doesn't feel like working in a horror house, actually. I can even convince myself that I'm working in an amusement park."

Kyungsoo chuckles, then takes the empty paper bag, folding it before throwing it into the trash can. Enjoy it while it lasts, Kyungsoo would normally say, but he can't argue with Chanyeol. For a horror house that offers the widest selection of scare stints, Scaredy Cats doesn't _feel_ like one. Kyungsoo doesn't feel the weight of his ghosts chaining him down, nor does he feel the need to run away at the first sign of his fears. The others don't seem to be haunted by their own ghosts, either. If there's one thing that Scaredy Cats has done for him, it's probably to scare the shit out of his bitterness over having to leave the talent agency. When fear meets fear, they clash until they defeat each other, and all that's left is an empty space for _something good_ to actually happen.

"Might be too early to tell," he says, smirking. "Maybe, one day, you'll encounter your fears there and be scared down to the bones."

Chanyeol shrugs, then pushes himself off the counter. He's taking small steps now, each one foot apart, and stops just before the tips of his slippers touch Kyungsoo's own. "What are you afraid of?" Chanyeol asks, voice steady and calm; his eyes are focused. Kyungsoo feels a peculiar hitch in his breath as he tries to summon the word 'nothing' up his throat, but he quickly swallows it down with the rest of his lies.

"A cockroack invasion, I guess," he mumbles. Chanyeol scoffs, snorts, breathes noisily through his nose. He presses hard on the base of his ear and pulls at it. "And what are _you_ afraid of, hmm?"

Chanyeol looks up, eyes wide and lips poised in a small 'o'. There's a thick blanket of silence for a while, until Chanyeol presses his lips together and hums a steady tune. "Silence," he answers soon after, and Kyungsoo nods slowly, counting the seconds until the next few words slip from Chanyeol's lips.

"Complete silence," Chanyeol whispers, cutting through the white noise. "The deafening kind."

☹ ☹ ☹

Chanyeol goes home a little after dinner, once the rain has subsided. His car roars to life and Kyungsoo watches as the rain blurs his vision, the retreating figure of Chanyeol's car, the road they'd traveled earlier. There's still chicken to be cleaned in his fridge, dishes to be washed, a quiet apartment to return to. _Complete silence,_ Chanyeol's voice rings in his ears, and he shrugs it off along with the weird look on Chanyeol's face – a steady, unmoving expression, no smile to pull up the corners of his lips.

Kyungsoo shuffles back to his apartment and plugs on his earphones. The white noise Chanyeol had filled earlier seeps through the ear buds just before a song comes on.

☹ ☹ ☹

"So I bought a portable chair since Jongdae won't give me the keys to the office," Chanyeol says as he brandishes his new find from behind his back, holding it like a sword. "Touché!"

"And for a very good reason," Kyungsoo says as he taps Chanyeol's side, motioning for him to move. He takes the key from his bag and slips it in the hole, then nudges Chanyeol with his elbow to make more room for himself. He doesn't even have to look over his shoulder or to his side to know that Chanyeol will be hovering him, trying to find an opening so he can snatch the key away from Kyungsoo. Only two weeks into being with Scaredy Cats yet Chanyeol has already developed a routine that Kyungsoo finds easy enough to fall into. It's not as if he has a choice, though – Chanyeol dragged him into this, grabbed him by the back of his shirt and forced him to get used to his early morning noise. Kyungsoo's still too drunk with sleep to fight back, so he lets Chanyeol have his way. There's always the promise of getting back at Chanyeol, anyway, while their carry out their fright plan in the zombie zoo.

He makes a mental note to remind Jongdae about getting a bigger box for Chanyeol. Maybe they should just rework the set to spice things up a bit, offer something new. At some point, the customers will get tired of getting freaked out by the same thing, and while Kyungsoo isn't so big on change, he could use something to shake him out of the year-long dry spell.

"Maybe if you weren't so rowdy, Jongdae would actually give you a spare key," he tells Chanyeol now as they make their way to Jongdae's office. They have a staff meeting during lunch time, and something scribbled in code that Kyungsoo can't seem to make out.

Chanyeol moves closer, tapping the space where the weird writing is scrawled on. "We have a new routine for… the backyard?" Chanyeol looks at Kyungsoo, eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed. "Are the zombies even allowed there? I thought only plant-like creatures like Sehun are allowed to enter?"

"If this is Jongdae's idea of a Plants versus Zombies spin-off, I'm out of here," Kyungsoo grumbles, then rolls his eyes. "That game is so–"

"Last millennium," comes another voice, higher than that of Chanyeol's but not any more vibrant. Jongdae stands at the doorstep, sunglasses perched low on the bridge of his nose. He squeezes Chanyeol's arm before making his way to his desk, and Kyungsoo cocks an eyebrow a little. "I just… thought of mixing things up a little, letting Chanyeol explore things and discover what he really likes–"

_But he likes it in the zombie zoo,_ Kyungsoo wants to argue but, instead, he bites the inside of his cheek.

"Oh?" Chanyeol chuckles. "You're giving me a _choice?_ "

Kyungsoo darts his gaze from Chanyeol to Jongdae and back again. There's a challenge in the way a corner of Chanyeol's lips is tugged up, in the way he cocks an eyebrow at Jongdae and Jongdae just looks up at him, gaze steady and focused. This isn't a battle, doesn't feel like a match to see who will outlast the other, but Kyungsoo feels as if he's not supposed to be here and that he's supposed to be busying himself with doing his rounds in the zombie zoo. Or maybe working on a bigger box for Chanyeol if Chanyeol so decides to stay in the zoo with him.

–like Chanyeol isn't supposed to be snaking an arm around his shoulder and saying, "Nah, I'm happy in the zombie zoo with Kyungsoo." Chanyeol ruffles his hair, and he snarls in response. "And I think Kyungsoo's pretty happy with my progress as well, yeah?"

Kyungsoo shrugs, applying more force than the usual in an attempt to make Chanyeol drop his hand to his side, but Chanyeol is unmoved, keeps his hand on Kyungsoo's shoulder like it's always meant to be there and that his cold fingers are supposed to tickle Kyungsoo's skin. "You're okay, I guess," he mumbles loud enough for Chanyeol to catch, and Chanyeol's eyes widen, a slow-forming grin ripping through his tight-lipped smile, lighting up his features.

"You _guess?_ You're not sure?"

Kyungsoo shrugs again, and this time Chanyeol pinches his arm. "I don't know. I haven't had coffee yet."

"Coffee's on me, then," Chanyeol says, humming, and gives his arm a squeeze before turning on his heel, twirling away. When Kyungsoo looks up at Jongdae, Jongdae's gaze is unreadable, and his lips are pressed together in a thin, thin line.

☹ ☹ ☹

Kyungsoo pulls the hood of his jacket over his head when they go out, then double-checks his pockets to make sure he has the coffee order slip with him. Sehun has the weirdest, most complicated coffee order ever, and Jongin's is only slightly less complicated, if the multiple corrections on the paper are anything to go by. It's a good thing that Joonmyun's and Jongdae's are fairly easy to remember – chai tea latte for Joonmyun, and vanilla latte for Jongdae – but Joonmyun just _had_ to scribble a note somewhere in the bottom that says, _please make sure that the drink is warm instead of hot. 140 degrees~ c:_ So he blows at his bangs instead of mumbling a reaction. Blaming the lack of coffee in his system gets trite after a while.

"They do this to you all the time? Make you pick up their coffee, I mean," Chanyeol asks after a while. They cross the street, Chanyeol without looking at either side of him. Kyungsoo grabs him by the back of his shirt when a motorcycle speeds past them. Chanyeol mumbles _what the fuck_ under his breath, but quickly resurfaces with a small smile. "You seem like the responsible type."

"I am, but I don't take orders from people," Kyungsoo simply says, shrugging. He lets go of Chanyeol's shirt once they're back on the sidewalk, safe from speeding motorists and rude people. Chanyeol's walking twice as much steps as he is, despite his longer legs. He always looks as if he's so hesitant to take big strides and lunge into something head-first, but Chanyeol's arms are different story. They're always draped on someone, slung around Joonmyun's shoulders or Jongin's, flailing mid-air in Chanyeol's attempt to communicate something he can otherwise express in words. It's like his arms and his legs are two different people making up the entirety of a giant – Park Chanyeol, sometimes hot, sometimes cold, but most of the time so dangerously warm.

"The early morning walk helps in uplifting your mood," Chanyeol offers. He chuckles, then leans away when Kyungsoo motions to jab on his arm. "I was kidding! Can't take a joke?"

"And _you_ can't take a hint," Kyungsoo mumbles. "Me and noise? Not a good combination. Tragic love story."

"I told you that silence freaks me out, right?" Chanyeol nudges him in his side. "C'mon, help me out here. There's a little boy who's _writhing_ in fear–"

Kyungsoo snorts. "That's not you."

"–and he just needs to hear your voice for a few minutes to fill the silence." Chanyeol ruffles his hair, grinning, then continues, "Easy enough, yeah?"

Easy isn't gratifying, though. Easy isn't what makes success stories so moving, or what makes something life-changing. Easy doesn't sit well with him and it frustrates him how _easy_ it is for Chanyeol to tug at his wrist, grin at him, swing his arm and convince him to do something he isn't accustomed to doing. _I think I've figured out one of your fears,_ he remembers Chanyeol mentioning before.

He winces when he feels Chanyeol squeezing his arm lightly. _Well this is another one, Park. One more discovery and you're out._ "What do you want to talk about?"

"Anything," Chanyeol replies, grinning. After a while, he adds, "You. Talk about yourself." Chanyeol demands information from people like he's been waiting for his coffee order for at least ten minutes already even if it's supposed to be easy to prepare. He commands attention – a steady grip on Kyungsoo's wrist, eyes focused on nobody but Kyungsoo, and lips quirked up in a small smile. "Hobbies? Things you're passionate about? Likes and dislikes?"

"Freaking people out, freaking people out, and…" Kyungsoo worries his bottom lip. "Coffee for 'likes', noisy people for 'dislikes'. How did I do?"

"Awful, Soo. Try harder." Chanyeol nudges him in his side, then slings an arm around his shoulder. "If we're going to be stuck with each other in the zombie zoo, we better work on our relationship, yeah?"

"Relationship," Kyungsoo mumbles, snorting, and Chanyeol pinches him in his side. Earlier, when Jongdae broached the topic of Chanyeol being separated from Kyungsoo in order to give him an opportunity to explore his scare skills, Chanyeol declined and said he was _happy_ with where he was at the moment. He made a decision, right then and there, to barge into the doors of Kyungsoo's life, drag his suitcase behind him, and let the luggage leave marks on the floor of Kyungsoo's apartment. Chanyeol hadn't even asked him what he wanted, and it wasn't as if Kyungsoo made a move to retaliate. Somehow, that's how things are with them – Chanyeol taking the lead, going on his merry way with Kyungsoo following closely behind, and Kyungsoo making sure Chanyeol doesn't veer from the path. Chanyeol calls the shots but Kyungsoo is the one who executes them, aiming perfectly-timed shots to the corners.

Chanyeol says he can't see through the boxes and Kyungsoo improvises. They still manage to freak people out, and at the end of the day that's what's important – delivering, keeping promises, maybe even outdoing oneself.

"Partnership sounds too… business-y." Kyungsoo tries to imagine Chanyeol in a suit instead of the kiddie outfit he wore the weekend he spotted Chanyeol in the mall. Chanyeol would look perfect in tailored pants and a dark blazer but he'd look like a kid playing pretend, as well. "Relationship works, doesn't it?"

"We could. Make it work, I mean," Kyungsoo replies. He takes a step forward and digs deep in his pockets for the list. He clears his throat and looks up to meet Chanyeol and says, in his best Chanyeol imitation, "Easy enough, yeah?"

"Stop copying me," Chanyeol grumbles, slapping his arm, but the smile on his lips betrays him. Kyungsoo's heart is a traitor, too, leaping out of his chest only to fall back in, setting his heart beating faster, and running a sliver of cold down to his fingertips. He gives the order to the barista and doesn't move when Chanyeol presses closer, when Chanyeol snakes an arm around his waist and whispers a correction to Jongin's order in his ear, when Chanyeol laughs against his skin when the barista writes the wrong customization notes on the coffee cup.

"That would be all," he says to the barista. Chanyeol pulls away, slow and easy, the pads of his fingers leaving the last traces of warmth on Kyungsoo's skin. Half of him feels relieved; the other half, uncertain of the fit of his body against empty space. Shrugging, he turns on his heel and wraps his arms around himself. It's cold outside and this cardigan isn't as thick as the other ones he owns, that's all. It has nothing to do with missing the warm press of Chanyeol's body or the way Chanyeol's laughter – rich, in his ears – leaves him wanting more.


	2. Chapter 2

Chanyeol's idea of developing a great partnership is mimicking Kyungsoo's every move in the zombie zoo. He pops out from a haystack instead of a box, though, and manages to convince Kyungsoo to do the 'crawling thing' with him. "More authentic. Less…" Chanyeol gestures with his hands, worrying his bottom lip as he tries to find his words. "Less fake. Whatever. Isn't it creepier when zombies come out from a normal-looking object? Cool, right?"

"I think boxes are common enough things," Kyungsoo replies, straight-faced, but a hint of a smile tugging up at the corners of his lips. Chanyeol pinches him in his side and drags him down to the floor.

Kyungsoo is usually more agile, quick to elude arms wrapping around his waist or his shoulders, but they're in a new zombie costume today – Jongdae's birthday gift, five months advanced – and they haven't had much practice with it yet. He almost tripped on his new feet when they tried moving around in it and went for a light jog around the zoo, and Chanyeol fell flat on his butt, complaining as soon as they god out of the costume. Now, with the dull ache of his previous falls still plaguing his muscles, he struggles to get Chanyeol off of him, kicks his feet and tries to move his arms around to gain ground. Chanyeol is stronger, though, completely in control of his limbs in a costume that has been tailor-made for him, and he pins Kyungsoo to the ground, hands on his wrists, eyes locked onto Kyungsoo's own.

"What are you doing?" Kyungsoo asks, voice cracking a little. He clears his throat – it's the work of the nasty cold that has hit the office, not the weight of Chanyeol's stare.

Chanyeol doesn't answer, doesn't move, just stays rooted there in his spot and holds Kyungsoo's gaze. The scare journey isn't set to start until fifteen minutes after and he's sure no one will walk in on them like this, but there's nothing wrong about it, is there? Chanyeol is just teaching him a lesson, making him shut up, exercising his power over Kyungsoo in the most physical way possible. There's nothing wrong about getting a bit physical during break time. It's not as if they're violating any work code or any bro code. Chanyeol is harmless; Kyungsoo is just looking for an adventure, and Chanyeol just happens to _be there._

"We're doing the popping out from the ground thing," Chanyeol reiterates through gritted teeth, then loosens his grip. Kyungsoo takes this as an opportunity to push Chanyeol off of him and down on the ground. Chanyeol has that toothy grin on his lips, the one that makes him look half-puppy and half-legs. It sends a sickening kind of turn to the pit of Kyungsoo's stomach.

Later, when the siren sounds off and Chanyeol's already walking over to his spot, the same silly grin on his lips as he lies flat on his stomach, on the ground, Kyungsoo realizes that he hadn't really said 'no'.

☻ ☻ ☻

Zitao arrives from his two-week trip to Japan with a bag filled with presents. Several trips around the world and too many souvenirs from Zitao after, Kyungsoo thinks he's gotten this pinned down – half of the bag is probably filled with all sorts of Japanese desserts for Zitao, Sehun, and Jongin to share stories over, and the other half has the 'good stuff' that the rest of them can enjoy. This time, it's Osaka's specialty tea for Joonmyun, a Hokusai printed scarf for Jongdae, and two stuffed toys for Kyungsoo.

"Rilakkuma and _Hobbang Man,_ really?" Kyungsoo asks, genuinely curious but also genuinely amused, and Zitao hits him on the arm once before proceeding to sit on his hands.

"It was a limited edition Hobbang Man, okay! I thought it was cute!"

Chanyeol doesn't get introduced to Zitao; he introduces himself, even extends a hand, and Zitao immediately takes a liking to him. Ten minutes and a few stories after, Chanyeol finds his pockets stuffed with small Japanese treats that Zitao insisted he take with him. "He's really nice," Chanyeol says through a mouthful of whatever he's popped between his teeth. "Who even gives strangers food these days?"

"Didn't even cross your mind that he might've been planning to poison you?" Kyungsoo takes a deep breath and frowns when he looks up at Chanyeol.

Chanyeol has that look on, the _come on, you can't be fucking around with me_ look. He hasn't seen this in a while, not in the past week. There hasn't been a clearer image in his mind but that of Chanyeol's soft smile and that split-second of uncertainty on Chanyeol's features. And the childish grin that shows all ten thousand of his teeth. "You're shitting me," Chanyeol mumbles, then groans when a small smile breaks across Kyungsoo's features. "I trusted you, Kyungsoo! I feel so betrayed!"

"You don't know me well enough."

Chanyeol pinches him in his side. "You won't let me."

Kyungsoo takes a step back, narrowly avoiding the another assault of pinches from Chanyeol.

It's not supposed to be easy, though, getting to know someone, wrestling information out of him like backing someone up against the wall and asking nicely, _what's your favorite fruit? What's your poison? How would you like your heart served – rare, medium rare, or well-done?_ It doesn't work that way. Not in Kyungsoo's realm, at least, where he's gotten accustomed to having to spend an ample amount of time with someone and going through some sort of life-changing experience with him. With Jongdae, it was working on their thesis that brought them together. With Zitao, Jongin, and Sehun, almost missing work because they _had_ to stay up and play Assassin's Creed. With Joonmyun, it started as idol worship that eventually turned into Kyungsoo assuming the responsibility of making sure Joonmyun took his vitamins.

"Let's play a game, then," Kyungsoo declares. Chanyeol stops in his tracks and tilts his head a little. "Well, not really a game. Just... Ask me and I'll answer as truthfully as possible."

Chanyeol snorts. "You're really bad at this 'thinking of how to talk about myself' thing, aren't you?"

Kyungsoo shrugs, doesn't meet Chanyeol in the eye. He knows Chanyeol's smirking, though, just by the light swaying of his body. "I'm trying, you know," he admits, then rushes, "C'mon. For the sake of this partnership."

" _Just_ for this partnership?"

He looks up now, meeting Chanyeol in the eye. The corners of Chanyeol's lips are quirked up and his eyes are bright, _fucking twinkling_ like he's up to no good or he's trying to get Kyungsoo into the grave he's dug for the two of them. Kyungsoo feels his throat tighten, his chest constrict. His fingers twitch when he parts his lips, poised to speak, then snaps them together again. Chanyeol starts to giggle and crosses his arms over his chest. "Don't tell me you have an issue with being honest as well."

"No, I don't," Kyungsoo retaliates, slaps Chanyeol on the arm and resumes walking. The change in scaredule means the zombie zoo scare stint will get cut in half, but that they'll have to explore the Plants versus Zombies plan with Sehun. It also means Chanyeol will be looking at him for direction, clinging to him like a leech or any object high on Mighty Bond. It sends a funny feeling to the tips of his fingers. "And fine, you're actually pretty useful in the house so I guess I'm not just doing this for the partnership."

Chanyeol purses his lips for a while, but the upward tug on his cheeks remains. Soon, he's grinning, canines peeking and pink gums greeting Kyungsoo. When Chanyeol asks about Kyungsoo's favorite color (black), favorite hairstyle (anything that's comfortable), and favorite type of clothing (underwear is most useful), he answers as truthfully as possible, keeps his fingers and toes crossed that Chanyeol won't ask anything weird.

"And your favorite person in the world?" Chanyeol asks as they bend their knees simultaneously, prepared to lie flat on their stomachs on the ground. Kyungsoo blinks twice, breathes noisily through his nose, then fixes his eyes on the door where the scare takers will be coming in.

"Myself," he answers. The siren sounds off. "And anyone who can make me smile."

☻ ☻ ☻

Friday evenings, Chanyeol leaves earlier than the usual. Closing isn't until ten in the evening, when half of them might as well be dead with fatigue and simply running on reserve energy. "Early shift tomorrow," Chanyeol whispers in Kyungsoo's ear, bends his knees like a fucking gentleman because _tiny people shouldn't tiptoe for me_ , then pinches Kyungsoo in his side. "I'll see you?"

"You two are going out tomorrow?" Jongdae asks, eyebrow cocked and a small smile on his lips. Kyungsoo shakes his head and waves him off, then makes his way to the closet to return his costume. "How do you feel about company outings?"

"Hopeless," Sehun offers. "We haven't had one ever since." Jongin bursts into laughter and turns to Sehun for a high-five, but Jongdae kicks them in their calves faster than Sehun could react. "I'm just saying, what are the chances of us getting time out when we _haven't gotten one in years?_ I'm being realistic."

Jongdae pouts, but turns on his heel and makes his way to the door. He holds up an accusing finger at Sehun and says, "No bonuses for you, _ever._ "

Chanyeol hasn't left yet, still leaning against the frame of the door, eyes on Kyungsoo. He's wiggling his eyebrows like he's waiting for an answer to something he hasn't even asked yet, and Kyungsoo only tilts his head in response. It takes no more than a few seconds, but Kyungsoo feels as if he's been thrust into a romcom of sorts where the male protagonist cuts through the distance to grab the other male protagonist by the wrist. Then they'd run away, frolicking in the fields, except Chanyeol hasn't dragged him out all the way yet. Chanyeol's looking down at him, eyes wide and smile tugged up all the way. Chanyeol is close, close enough that Kyungsoo can count the pimples on his cheeks if he wanted to, or his eyelashes, or the number of times Chanyeol bites his lower lip.

The rest of the group is just a few feet away, and they're pressed so close together. _Relationship-building,_ Kyungsoo reminds himself.

"Sssh. Keep quiet," Chanyeol whispers after a while, then slips a piece of paper in Kyungsoo's hands. "I _will_ see you, right?"

Kyungsoo tears his gaze from Chanyeol's. "I'll have to check my fridge."

"Great! I get off at 4 p.m.."

"I'm telling your girlfriend!" Jongin calls out after Chanyeol, and Chanyeol just sticks up his middle finger in reply. When Kyungsoo opens his fists, he catches Chanyeol's hurried writing on the paper – his cellphone number and a smiley at the end.

He stuffs the paper in his pockets and gulps hard. He tries not to smile.

☻ ☻ ☻

Kyungsoo leaves his house later than the usual the following day. He'd sort of promised to meet Chanyeol after his shift, but only because he has a lot of things to pick up from the supermarket – pork, more instant noodles, yellow radish, maybe a couple of bottles of beer if he's in the mood for it. It's not like he's planning to feed a legion. It's just been him and his laptop across the table all these years, after all, catching up on dramas over the weekend and maybe shedding a tear or two over well-executed drama scenes.

"Sometimes I wonder how you manage to set aside time to, well–" Chanyeol gestures at the vegetables in Kyungsoo's cart. A few milk cartons have somehow made their way there, just beside the lettuce and carrots. "Cook for yourself when you always come to work early and get home so late."

Kyungsoo shrugs, then hands the cartons back to Chanyeol. Chanyeol shakes his head, only grins at him and giggles. "I do all my cooking in the evening and pack my lunch before I go to bed. That way, I won't have to get up early." Chanyeol slips a pack of bubblegum in the cart, and Kyungsoo quickly swats his hand away. "Get your own cart!"

"What? You're going to make me unpack your stuff later and I won't even get paid for it. The least you could do is buy me stuff."

Kyungsoo groans. "I'm not your mom."

"Definitely not my mom," Chanyeol replies, laughing a little. He ruffles Kyungsoo's hair and continues, "Too tiny. Less grumpy, but definitely cuter."

Kyungsoo steps on Chanyeol's foot but misses by a few centimeters. Chanyeol runs off, laughing, but picks up a couple of items from Kyungsoo's to-buy list.

The drive to Kyungsoo's house is more smooth-sailing this time, without rain pelting down on the streets and blurring their view. Chanyeol talks about Jongdae applauding their Plants versus Zombies act with Sehun and Zitao, and Kyungsoo only rolls his eyes and says that maybe, maybe they can work on that a bit more. "It's a crazy idea, to be honest, but if it works..." Kyungsoo voice trails off and he shrugs, then throws his head back into the head rest. Chanyeol's car smells nice – much like a spa, except the scent is tamer, doesn't lull him to sleep but calms his nerves just enough that he doesn't mind entertaining an idea of doing a sequel to their initial Plants versus Zombies act.

Chanyeol hits the brakes when they reach a red light, then turns the radio down just a little. Kyungsoo opens one eye, peeking at Chanyeol. "I love crazy."

"Not surprised," Kyungsoo replies. He sits up again when the light turns green. "You seem exactly like the type."

Only the second time that Chanyeol's been to Kyungsoo's apartment and he already seems to be at ease, moving around the kitchen like his feet know where to take him. The bowls of instant ramyun are neatly stacked, labels facing front, and Chanyeol ganders at his work with a grin on his lips. Chanyeol then proceeds to arrange all the contents of Kyungsoo's cupboard, and that's when he starts fussing – Chanyeol's rearranging his life in tiny cans without even asking permission. It's like a violation of personal space without actually toeing the line. " _Hey._ "

"Ssh." Chanyeol waves him off. He's kneeling on the counter now as he arranges the canned goods. "I'm arranging your cans by color, by height. I accept food as payment."

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, but his fingers haven't stopped twitching yet. "How does kimchi jjigae sound?"

Chanyeol looks over his shoulder, eyes wide, a soft smile on his lips. His eyebrows are lightly furrowed, like there's confusion or surprise that he's trying to temper. "Really good."

Chanyeol hums while he works, not a single moment of silence save for when he moves from one song to the next. At one point, Kyungsoo pulls up a playlist on his phone and blasts songs on his speakers, loud enough to fill the white noise but not too loud to drown out Chanyeol's voice. Chanyeol has a smooth tone, low and warm, like a quilt wrapped around your shoulder on a cold winter afternoon. Kyungsoo finds himself humming as he stirs the broth, then adds the pork and onion leeks. The rice cooker sounds off. Bless Samsung and their devices.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" Kyungsoo asks after a while, once Chanyeol has come down from the counter and has rolled up his sleeves. His hands are covered in suds, and his eyes are twinkling with something Kyungsoo can't quite pinpoint yet. Kyungsoo hates it, not being able to decipher Chanyeol's movements, the password to cracking Chanyeol's heavily encrypted code. It's been more than a month since they've started working together and Chanyeol already knows more about him than he should. He should keep up, do something to even the playing field. He can't lose to Chanyeol.

"Well, I do," Chanyeol replies, then turns on the tap. Water pressure is good today, produces a low thrum as the water hits the sink. "But after working with kids for 8 hours, I don't think I want to go home and deal with with my family just yet. That house is a complete terror, I'm telling you." Chanyeol scoffs and towels his hands down, shucking off the last few droplets of water as he shakes his hands. "That's where the real ghosts are – back at home where it's supposed to be safe."

Kyungsoo gulps hard, then turns his eyes back on the stew. "You don't have to tell me about it if you don't want to," he says. "We're all entitled to our own secrets."

"Like me working in a toy store during weekends, yeah." Chanyeol laughs lightly, then locks his arms behind his back. He knocks down a few things, but none of them are breakable. Kyungsoo covers the pot and twists his torso so that he's facing Chanyeol. "Except my cover's been blown by my scare partner. And I ran into Sehun and Zitao this morning, ogling Gundam action figures."

"Should it even be a secret? It's not as if you're living a double life."

"Eh." Chanyeol shrugs. "I just don't want too many people knowing what I do with my supposed 'spare time'." He exhales loudly, bottom lip jutting out as he ends. "I guess I just don't want to be found. Not by my family, at least."

Kyungsoo watches and waits, eyes fixed on Chanyeol's own. Beside him, the stew boils, and he tears his gaze only to add the other ingredients and a generous amount of gochujang. "Hey, I thought you hated silence," he says when he gets nothing, and Chanyeol resurfaces with wide eyes, color rushing back to his cheeks and the upward curl of his lips. "I'm trying to do my part."

"Your thoughts are so noisy, though." Chanyeol pokes him in his side, and he half squirms, half cackles. He's not supposed to be ticklish there. "Noisier than my own brain. And I thought I already talked a lot."

"Keep talking, if it helps," Kyungsoo offers, but Chanyeol only grins at him, laughing and he pokes the same spot, eliciting laughter from Kyungsoo. He should probably check the stew, see if it's spicy enough or need more salt, but he's got his hands full now – he uses one to give Chanyeol's arm light jabs and then fist in Chanyeol's shirt, and the other is on his heart, left of his chest, pressing down hard as he tries to still the loud beating inside. In the end, Chanyeol takes over cooking the stew and maybe adds too much gochujang, but Kyungsoo really can't be bothered – the way the sting of spiciness wraps around Chanyeol's lips is beautiful, paints the corners of his mouth a nice, warm smile.

Kyungsoo takes another sip of the stew and winces. It's a nice kind of burn.

☻ ☻ ☻

Sundays are relatively slow, me-days for Kyungsoo – there's no need to get up early, no need to cook something for himself if he really doesn't feel like eating. As long as he has his laptop and his dramas, he'll survive. He could run on just two cups of coffee until late afternoon and not get cranky. He could sleep half the day and he won't feel guilty about 'wasting time' and 'not doing anything better'.

Today, though, Jongdae pays him a visit, two plastic bags in tow. One is filled with an assortment of chips, and the other has cider and a couple of cans of alcohol. "Does this guarantee a free sick leave tomorrow?" he asks as Jongdae lays down the items on the table in the living room. He saves one can of beer from falling off the edge. Jongdae's estimation skills have never been the best, not in all the years that they've been friends.

"Don't do this to me," Jongdae answers, frowning. Kyungsoo takes one of the cans and opens it for Jongdae. "I've already lost you to Chanyeol; now I'll lose you to work?"

_Isn't that the same thing?_ Kyungsoo wants to ask, but snatches the can back and takes a gulp, instead. "Oh, you know me and work – we're the PDA couple I used to barf at."

"You and Chanyeol? Not quite." Jongdae sits on the carpet, legs folded under his weight. "You've been getting along really well, though. I'm… kinda surprised."

Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow, then adds a smile to his expression, a corner of his lips tugging up when Jongdae begins to raise his arms in front of him in defense. "I'm not saying that you don't know how to socialize. I'm just _surprised_ you actually get along with someone as noisy–"

"–obnoxious, but we're not–"

"Yeah. That, too." Jongdae scrunches his nose. "Doesn't he… Doesn't he tick you off?"

Chanyeol does, if you consider smiling and grinning ear-to-ear every single time annoying. Chanyeol's movements are too big, too, like he doesn't have control over his limbs. He craves warmth and contact and puts Baekhyun's need for affection to shame, and hates standstills and silence. Kyungsoo is adaptable, yes, but sometimes Chanyeol will lean over too much and end up with his face in Kyungsoo's lap, or he'll laugh too loud in Kyungsoo's ears. He can only take so much of Chanyeol, but Chanyeol can't seem to get enough.

"Sort of," Kyungsoo replies after a while. He raises his beer in a toast, and Jongdae meets his can halfway. "But I don't have extra energy to spend on getting mad at people. Making people shit in their pants already drains me."

"And I won't pay you for overtime just so you could pacify Chanyeol," Jongdae adds, then straightens his legs as he leans back against the couch. Jongdae accidentally jams his foot into Kyungsoo's leg and apologizes, but Kyungsoo just shrugs and waves it off, sinks his lips in alcohol and keeps drinking. Their knees bump, and the electricity that shoots up Kyungsoo's thighs jolts him awake, back to life, back to the reality that Jongdae's probably too close comfort – thigh to thigh, pinky to pinky. Ear to ear, except Jongdae's turning his head slowly, pinning Kyungsoo in place with his gaze. "You're really okay with him? Are you sure?"

"And if I'm not, you're going to fire him?" Kyungsoo chuckles. "I think you're asking the wrong question, Jongdae. Spill. You can't put this off forever."

_Are you okay with this_ can be one of Jongdae's questions, but it's not as if they're never been more than just thigh to thigh, arms pressed against each other. Fresh from university and high on freedom, Jongdae had slipped a hand in his pants twice – first, to get his keys to his apartment; and second, to jerk him off. Jongdae's parents were away for the weekend and they'd both just gotten their first paycheck from their part-time job. So Jongdae thought, _let's buy a cock ring, promise it will be great,_ and Kyungsoo thought, _why the hell not?_ It wasn't as if he hadn't known Jongdae for a while, didn't trust the way Jongdae's hands mapped out his skin or the way Jongdae laid him down in bed, jeans long gone and forgotten on the floor. This was Jongdae – his best friend since college days, the only person who knew him better than he knew himself – and this was him submitting himself to Jongdae completely. So it's not a question of whether or not this is okay or if Kyungsoo's comfortable with _this_ ; it's more of Jongdae getting assurance that there isn't anything that Kyungsoo wants to know or wants from him other than his salary for the month.

"Okay, I'll start: why are you here?"

Jongdae's features soften. "To catch up with you?"

"Why are you asking about Chanyeol?"

"Because…" Jongdae worries his bottom lip. "Because he spends most of his time with you and you're the best person to ask about his progress at work?"

Kyungsoo snorts. "Sehun's lack of enthusiasm never seemed to bother you," he said, then cocks an eyebrow at Jongdae. "Come on, tell me why it matters."

Jongdae holds his gaze, eyebrows furrowing as he purses his lips. He takes a deep breath. "Because I know Chanyeol from high school and this Chanyeol you're dealing with on a daily basis isn't the same Chanyeol I knew back then," Jongdae answers. He worries his bottom lip, quirks his lips, turns to look at Kyungsoo with eyes that Kyungsoo can't recognize. It's like looking at yourself in the mirror and not recognizing yourself; worse, seeing someone else. "This is a new and improved version and sure, it's great! But–"

"But?" But the new version doesn't suit him? But it _isn't_ Chanyeol? But Jongdae can't come to terms with this change yet because he's shit at dealing with change, battling it in a hand-to-hand combat?

"I don't know, man. It just… feels weird." Jongdae takes a sip of his beer, groans when he realizes that his can is empty. "He's in a better place now, he definitely is."

"You could just tell me what happened in high school so I can stop asking questions, you know," Kyungsoo says, but Jongdae only rolls his eyes in response. "You're gonna stay a mystery forever? Is that it?"

"Eeeexactly," Jongdae says, laughing a little. He scowls when Kyungsoo pinches him in his side. "I'm vulnerable! Don't attack me like that!"

_How, then?_ is Kyungsoo's new question, but he tucks it at the back of his mind. He'd long given up on getting a straight answer from Jongdae, given up on getting Jongdae to sit down and talk about _just one thing_ rather than a multitude of topics. With a deep breath, he reaches for another can of beer, but Jongdae beats him to it, hands him a can with a tab already open.

"Keep your guard up," Jongdae says, more as a piece of advice than a warning. He sounds more sure now, without the little cracks in his voice and the abnormal lilt. Kyungsoo nods.

"I won't," he promises, then clinks his can with Jongdae's. "I'll keep the shields up."

☻ ☻ ☻

(When Kyungsoo entered college, he only had one goal – graduate with flying colors. It only made sense because he knew everything else would follow. His family would be proud of him and he'd probably get a good job right after graduation. He'd land a great job then meet a pretty girl at work, and then he'd fall in love with her and ask her out. It would probably take a while for them to get together because he was shit at wooing women, but they would, eventually. Then they'd have three kids and they'd carry on the Do name. The end.

Except that wasn't how things panned out – he ended up balancing idol training and his studies and still pretty well in class, but not as good as he wanted to. He met Kim Jongdae in theatre class and ended up being the best of friends with him. Halfway through college, he'd already memorized the wicked contours of Jongdae's body, the dip of his back, the gentle swell of his stomach. He'd improved his skills at wooing girls but girls didn't seem to woo him anymore. It was Jongdae's lips that he dreamt of kissing, Jongdae's hands that he wanted to hold. The moment he saw Jongdae, he knew there was no turning back. He knew what he wanted, and that was Jongdae.

Jongdae didn't seem to know exactly what he wanted then, though. In the end, they'd turned from best friends to best fucks and then back. Jongdae offered him a job in the horror house following the fall from grace at the talent agency, and they never talked about the past again. That was Jongdae's most endearing trait – not dwelling on the bitter past and just focusing on the present. Maybe it was also his worst.

So really, Kyungsoo has always kept the shields up. It's just that for a moment, Jongdae was much too powerful and headstrong that he'd taken down Kyungsoo's walls in one hit. And here Chanyeol is now with his endless energy and enthusiasm, slowly chipping at Kyungsoo's five-foot-seven walls, carefully breaking them down. That's the difference between Jongdae and Chanyeol – Jongdae was always in a rush to progress, while Chanyeol took his sweet time.

And Kyungsoo hated being rushed.)

☻ ☻ ☻

Scaredy Cats gets packed than the usual just before Chuseok. Jongdae decides to shorten scare stints to three minutes per area instead of seven, but gives Sehun, Chanyeol, and Kyungsoo an extra five minutes for the final showdown of Lord of the Trees Oh Sehun and Zombie Leaders Chanyeol and Kyungsoo. "No fair," Jongin comments, lying flat on his belly in the oasis. "I don't even get enough time to make them dream about the red contacts." Jongdae only waves him off, then shows the new schedule to Chanyeol and Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo doesn't miss the way Jongdae's fingers wrap around Chanyeol's wrists, or the way Jongdae beams at Chanyeol like he's a walking ball of cotton candy. He does keep his vision focused on the scaredule on the board, though, and doesn't look at Chanyeol in the eye until Jongdae's well gone and fussing over Joonmyun's costume.

"Hey, you look sick," Chanyeol says. He bumps his hips into Kyungsoo's and Kyungsoo winces at the jolt of electricity that runs up his sides. "You want me to take you home?"

It's nearing ten in the evening now, and with all the work they'd done the whole day he could probably use the free lift. Granted, it will involve having to listen to Chanyeol's endless chatter and the same roster of songs for the next hour or so, but it's convenient. No more transfers to keep track of, no need to stay awake the rest of the way. If he does fall asleep on his way home, in Chanyeol's car, all Chanyeol has to do to fill the silence is to turn up the radio and sing Gavin DeGraw until he rouses from his sleep.

"Why?" he says instead of answering. Chanyeol blinks, like he's isn't used to receiving another question as a response to his own. "Why do you care?"

A small smile surfaces on Chanyeol's lips, and he snakes an arm around Kyungsoo's shoulder to pull him closer. Kyungsoo's as least three inches taller than the usual when he's in this costume and the thin guard makes the warm press of Chanyeol's body more bearable, but Chanyeol's voice slithers in his senses, wraps around his neck and takes him in a chokehold. "Because you're Kyungsoo and you're my tiny partner," Chanyeol says, earnest, laughing like Kyungsoo's asking the most incredulous question in the world. "Is there really a need for a reason?"

"It makes things easier to digest," Kyungsoo admits. It's nearing ten and he's too tired to put up a fight, and everyone else has left the dressing room, so he leans into the touch, rests his head on Chanyeol's chest. "Thanks."

"Stations, every–" Jongdae peeks into the room and stops mid-sentence as he meets Kyungsoo in the eye, then looks up at Chanyeol. Kyungsoo doesn't move, doesn't tear his gaze from Jongdae's own, doesn't even _breathe_ until Jongdae finally blinks and takes a step back. "You two ready for the last show?" Jongdae asks, eyebrows raised, and Chanyeol flashes him a thumbs-up in response.

"You sure you can do another show?" Chanyeol asks as they make their way to the zombie zoo.

Kyungsoo is still lightheaded from three straight scare journeys that they've done in the past hour and a half but he nods, nonetheless. Chanyeol keeps a hand on the small of his back the rest of the trip. There's silence for a while, one that he feels Chanyeol's body revolting against – it's there in the cold press of Chanyeol's fingers on his back, Chanyeol's heavy breathing, the way Chanyeol's gaze is drawn to Kyungsoo every so often. So he grabs Chanyeol by the wrist, tightens his grip, and whispers, "Hey. Relax. The silence won't kill you."

"But you could," is Chanyeol's response, but Chanyeol could have said anything and Kyungsoo's muddled brain might have just made things up. With a firm nod, they exit the passageway and close the door behind them, taking their places in the zombie zoo.

"Don't screw up," Kyungsoo calls out from the haystack opposite Chanyeol's. He can hear Chanyeol's bright laughter soar above the sound of the siren.

"Watch," Chanyeol replies. The smile on his lips is blinding. "I'll make you proud."

☻ ☻ ☻

Chanyeol stays at the doorstep while he waits for Kyungsoo to finish packing up. They'd managed to dodge Jongdae's questions – _What do you have planned for Chuseok? Who are you spending it with? Kyungsoo, you're not watching the entire Endless Love series again, are you?_ – but not the compulsory group hug before going on their separate ways. "Don't forget to wish for more customers, okay?" Jongdae reminds them, and Joonmyun is the only one who has enough courage to say, _just take a break and don't think about work for once, Jongdae._

"You ready?" Chanyeol asks as Kyungsoo slings his bag over his shoulder. He nods and offers Chanyeol a small smile, then takes a few steps forward. "Awesome. Let's go!"

Chanyeol is quiet for most of the trip, humming to fill the silence between songs on the stereo. Kyungsoo sings along whenever a song that he knows comes up, but this is Chanyeol's twisted playlist they're singing to – half of the songs are of artists Kyungsoo has never heard of, and half are songs from five years back that haven't really lost their touch yet. "This one's my favorite," Chanyeol says when _Let It Go_ comes up. He does his best imitation of Gavin DeGraw when they reach a red light, and Kyungsoo shakes his head at him.

Just before the chorus, Chanyeol stops and leans forward to poke Kyungsoo's cheek. "Now there's a smile. Thought I wouldn't see one from you today."

Thirty more seconds until the light turns green. This means thirty more seconds of Gavin DeGraw's uninhibited belting out on the stereo. Thirty seconds of Chanyeol looking at him like there's no road to pay attention to in front of them, like they haven't spent ten hours working their asses off and that he still has enough energy to pull up the other corner of Kyungsoo's lips up – a light graze of the finger, Chanyeol's nail catching on the dip on the curl of the lip. He sees his reflection in Chanyeol's eyes again and he feels a familiar sizzle roll down his stomach. His words are caught up in his throat, fighting for release, pounding at the back of his teeth. "Uh-huh."

"You've been extra grumpy."

Kyungsoo snorts, and Chanyeol drops his hand on the gear shift. "You make it sound as if I'm a walking ball of… I don't know, negativity? Frowns? Like I'm really becoming a zombie?"

"You might as well be," Chanyeol replies, then shifts in his seat. His face is facing front now, but he's still looking to his side. The green light paints Chanyeol's profile a sick glow. "Something bothering you? You can tell me anything, you know."

_You are,_ he wants to say, _You're the one who's bothering me,_ but the green light gets the better of him. So instead, he asks, "Why?"

Chanyeol furrows his eyebrows but keeps his eyes on the road. "Why what?"

"Why–" Kyungsoo takes a deep breath. "Why are you trying to stay as far away from your house as possible? Why would you rather face the ghosts in the horror house than at home? Why are you running away?"

There's no red light on Kyungsoo's side, no white noise on the radio to leave Chanyeol exposed. Chanyeol's grip on the steering wheel tightens. There's still a good thirty minutes ahead of them, from here to where Kyungsoo's apartment is, but Chanyeol can easily pull over and ask Kyungsoo to leave if he wants to. And Kyungsoo will, if Chanyeol finds this conversation uncomfortable bordering on rude, but Kyungsoo can't live with too many questions in his mind anymore. The voices in his mind – his own voices, the ones from certain periods of his life – are already a handful, as it is; he doesn't need Chanyeol's voice there, all the highs and lows of it, the lilts and the quirks of his tone.

"Because I know I can drive the ghosts in the horror house away if I tried really hard," Chanyeol answers after a while. "The ghosts at home will never cease to follow me around and haunt me."

_So let me drive them away for you,_ Kyungsoo almost says, but instead his jaw goes slack and his throat goes dry, the air in his lungs dissipating when Chanyeol's voice drops to a whisper. "Tough guy Park Chanyeol shrieking because of ghosts that won't leave," Chanyeol says, laughing a little. "Funny story, huh?"

"Not funny," Kyungsoo mutters. The traffic light goes red, and he reaches out to lay his palm flat on Chanyeol's thigh. "Really scary. I'm… sorry."

Chanyeol turns to look at him, then rests his hand atop Kyungsoo's. His fingers are cold but his palm is warm and soft. Kyungsoo shivers at the weird mix. "Don't be," is the only thing that Chanyeol says, but his grip on Kyungsoo's hand tight like all that he needs right now is this comfortable silence, static on the radio, a whole world of white noise between them.

"Do you have plans for Chuseok?" Chanyeol asks much later, after taking a left turn.

Kyungsoo jerks a little, then turns to Chanyeol with wide eyes. "No, not really. Both of my parents are dead and my brother's in Hongkong with his wife," he replies, the words spilling from his lips faster than he can choke them back because Chanyeol had only asked a yes-or-no question. He didn't have to let him take a peek into his life. Chanyeol nods slowly, index finger tapping the steering wheel, and hums a small tune under his breath for the next few minutes. Only when they've reached another red light does he turn to Kyungsoo to ask, "Do you want to make plans for Chuseok?"

"I don't mind," Kyungsoo answers. Chanyeol raises an eyebrow at him, and he exhales loudly in response. "What do you have planned?"

"I could crash in your place for the next…" Chanyeol worries his bottom lip for a while. "Five days? Yeah? We could watch the Endless Love series and cry over instant ramyun. Then we can get drunk and watch the whole thing again! Or… Ah! Gundam! Gundam is best watched after too many bottles of alcohol!"

"I'm not getting my mind fucked by that anime again," Kyungsoo grumbles. "How does jjigae sound?"

Chanyeol chuckles but chokes halfway through, and there's a peculiar curve on the curl of the lip. "Anything you cook is good, but we can order pizza just in case," Chanyeol says. He turns his eyes back on the road when the light turns green. "Looks like we're gonna have the best Chuseok yet!"

Kyungsoo snorts, and Chanyeol's response is light laughter and a quick slap on his arm. He can feel the corners of his lips tugging up, can feel the force ripping through his cheeks. So he doesn't fight it, lets his body have its way with the better half of his sense and just gives in – to this smile, the weird idea of spending Chuseok watching series he's already seen at least five times, the reality that he won't be alone during Chuseok for the first time in three years, and that Chanyeol has just invited himself for an extended stay.

Crazy, he says to himself and leans back in his seat. Ghosts love crazy ideas, but hate the feeling of happiness. That might just be the trick to drive away all of Chanyeol's ghosts once and for all.

☻ ☻ ☻

For all of Chanyeol's easy confidence, he still secures his parents' approval before actually pushing through with his plans. Kyungsoo doesn't actually start digesting the whole concept of spending the weekend and the rest of Chuseok with Chanyeol back at home until he receives the news, and Chanyeol immediately delves into detailing all sorts of things that they can do over the break.

"Watching series is a go, of course. And I still insist on watching Gundam." Chanyeol worries his bottom lip, eyebrows furrowing in turn, and almost walks past his parking spot as he goes on his spiel. The orange Veloster is hard to miss, but when Chanyeol _gets into things_ and gets lost in this thoughts, even the bright color of his car can go unnoticed. "Or maybe we should watch Evangelion. What do you think?"

"I thought we were staying away from mind fucks?" Kyungsoo asks. He laughs a little, but one of the paper bags in his arms starts to give away. "What about Inception?"

"Vantage Point," Chanyeol suggests. "Bourne Series? Or maybe…" He wiggles his eyebrows at Kyungsoo.

"I don't like how that sounds."

"Nah, I'm kidding." He nudges Kyungsoo with his elbow, then walks over to his side of the car. "Have you ever been to Kalbongsan? Godaesan? Everybody goes to Godaesan at least once in their lives."

_Not really,_ Kyungsoo wants to say. Some people would rather spend ten hours doing a series marathon than driving up north and spending that much time on the road. _It'll be fun,_ Kyungsoo remembers Jongdae mentioning one time, back when they were still in college and 'free time' wasn't a foreign concept. They'd already ironed out everything then – travel plans, had their bags packed, had their knees psyched for a strenuous trek. Then Joonmyun bailed out at the very last minute and said he wouldn't be able to drive for them. So they ended up in Kalbongsan, instead, lounging in the peaceful company of trees and nature. The walking trail there wasn't as challenging as that of Godaesan's, but it gave them a good laugh everytime Joonmyun almost lost his balance and had to hold onto Jongdae for dear life.

"Still haven't been to Godaesan," Kyungsoo admits after a while. He fastens his seatbelts, then checks the paper bags at the backseat. "What do you have planned?"

"Well… We can check in at Kalbongsan, enjoy nature for a while or something, then in the evening we leave for Godaesan?"

Kyungsoo glances at his watch – it's nearing twelve noon and they're still in the vicinity of Bokjeong, two hours away from Kalbongsan's quiet scene. The last trip for the mountains leaves at eight in the evening, he's pretty sure. There's enough time _if_ he makes a decision right here, right now, in the confines of Chanyeol's car. The grin on Chanyeol's lips makes him believe that Chanyeol already made a decision, though – too much food in their backseat, an early enough call-time for grocery shopping. A clear plan of action and confidence in the way he wiggles his eyebrows at Kyungsoo, saying, "So? You up for a hike?"

He exhales loudly. It's not a sin to be relenting. "I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Hmm… nah, not really." Chanyeol cackles, then turns up the radio. "I brought extra toiletries. I'll give you an hour to pack?"

"Fuck you, Park Chanyeol," is the only thing he says in response. The smile on his lips betrays his words in every way.

So Saturday afternoon finds them on the road to Kalbongsan instead of roaming the noisy streets of Bokjeong, well away from both Chanyeol's part-time job at Seungjin Toy and even the horror house. Chanyeol pulls up a special playlist consisting mostly of upbeat songs, and then some choice acoustic covers. Chanyeol sings through them all, voice thinning when he reaches the high notes, and Kyungsoo goes for the save as he picks up from where Chanyeol's voice has dropped to a whisper.

"You should sing more," Chanyeol comments. His eyes haven't strayed the road, but a corner of his lips is tugged up. "You ever considered being an idol?"

Kyungsoo chuckles. "Used to be one. I mean, I was on the road to fulfilling my idol dream but–"

No red lights in sight but Chanyeol risks a glance at him, anyway. "But?"

"Some weird disease hit me and damaged my vocal chords so I can't strain them for too long." Kyungsoo clears his throat, and Chanyeol winces. "So karaoke nights? I hate those unless Jongdae's there with me. He hogs the mic most of the time so I have to give up the mic halfway through. It's a win-win situation."

"All the time, you mean!" Chanyeol adds. He takes a right when they cross the bridge. Gary Lightbody is singing on the stereo now, some old Snow Patrol song that Kyungsoo can't seem to make out with Chanyeol's voice filling his eardrums. Chanyeol doesn't only sound good; he can sing, could have made a living out of it if he wanted to. "But you've got to give it to him. He's really good. I'm surprised he didn't become an idol."

It's a complicated story, really, but for starters – they both made the cut, and Kyungsoo had to quit following the discovery of the condition of his vocal chords. The vastly different schedules kept them apart, but they still made a point to keep in touch – text, occasional calls, fleeting visits to the SM building, they lived on those until Kyungsoo had to take two part-time jobs. Jongdae pressed on with his idol dream, though, but he couldn't keep up with the rigorous training. His parents withdrew him from the program and pleaded for him to take care of himself, _we'll help you find a job, honey. Just don't… put yourself in danger anymore._ Somehow that was what brought them back together, the lack of danger in their lives, the calm after the raging storm. Older, more experienced, and more mature, they'd started avoiding manholes together. They're way past the stage where taking crazy risks was 'a thing'.

A couple of part-time jobs after and with some help from Jongdae's parents, Jongdae was able to put up a horror house. It became a hot topic for a couple of months, and had been used as a set for a number of series and movies. So here they are now, living with their ghosts in Scaredy Cats, reminding people of their fears that won't ever die.

"Well, he really wanted to, but wanting something doesn't mean you'll get it. Not all the time, at least." Kyungsoo shifts in his seat. "He loves the horror house, though. Says it's different from most theme parks. But he _did_ want to turn it into an amusement park before," he replies. Chanyeol snorts this time, uninhibited, and almost chokes on his own spit. "The Lotte World or Everland type, I mean, complete with the street performances and musicals."

"Yeah, he'd look great in a dolphin costume. Or a parrot, since he can't stop talking."

"Clearly, you haven't hung out with Baekhyun enough."

Chanyeol's eyes go wide and he shakes his head vigorously. "Jongdae's already a handful, thank you very much!"

Kyungsoo gulps hard. "And you'd know because?"

Here they are again – the standstill, the vacuum where anything and nothing can happen. Chanyeo shifts in his seat, torso twisting, leaning a bit to his side. Chanyeol hasn't looked away from the road, not yet, but Kyungsoo knows he wants to when Chanyeol grips the steering wheel tight, when his hand hovers the gear shift for a while instead of immediately pushing or pulling at it. Chanyeol is rarely ever unsure of what he wants, but there's a responsibility to be carried out right now. If Chanyeol looks at Kyungsoo, maybe Kyungsoo will get the answer he wants; if Chanyeol so much as takes a full five seconds to tear his eyes from the road, Kyungsoo might not be able to get an answer from him ever.

"Jongdae and I… had a thing back in high school." Chanyeol darts out his tongue, licking his bottom lip. "Guess he didn't want anyone to know if he couldn't even tell his closest friend."

There's a song playing on the stereo, but none of it cuts through the thick silence that Chanyeol places between them – Chanyeol with his lips pressed thinly together, Kyungsoo rooted in his seat, unmoving, not wanting to move. "A thing?" he says, still, curiosity getting the better of him. If curiosity really did kill the cat then he'd long be dead. "What do you mean?"

"A thing, as in we hung out after school, studied together, stayed over at each other's houses." Chanyeol laughs a little, and Kyungsoo doesn't miss the bitter undertone in it. "We kissed and sort of did other things. _A thing._ "

His chest grows heavy. He can't decide which is worse – having to find out from Chanyeol instead of Jongdae or finding out at all. "He didn't… give it a name?"

Chanyeol snorts. "Would you ever expect that from Jongdae? Really?"

Not really. He's long stopped expecting anything of Jongdae – to fulfill a promise of going out with him to check out a store in Seoul, to get someone new following the resignation of one of his employees. To face a challenge and tackle it to the ground instead of dodging the first sign on conflict and waiting it out until the turbulence comes to a complete standstill. At best, Jongdae is a mixbag of tricks, full of surprises; at worst, finality and constancy freak him out.

"I guess some things don't change," he says after a while. He sits on his hands, shivering a little when he feels the cold seep through the material of his pants. "We had a thing back in college and he didn't even call it 'a thing'."

Chanyeol furrows his eyebrows and chuckles. "Ah, I have an idea. Let's buy him a dictionary – a gift from both of us," Chanyeol kids, but the lack of lilts and the peculiar curl in his voice says anything but _I'm just kidding._ "That should help him with definitions, yeah?"

"He can't even _read,_ " Kyungsoo retorts. Chanyeol's eyes go wide and his shoulders shake. He slides the gear shift down, slipping into fourth gear. His tiny giggles are drowned out by the engine noise.

If it were anyone else, it would be weird going out on a road trip with your not-ex's ex, but this is Chanyeol, Chanyeol whose smile can make heads turn, whose laughter can draw in a crowd and turn strangers into friends. Chanyeol with his easy confidence, his warm touch, and the patience to slowly wear down people's defenses. This is Park Chanyeol whose got his hands on the steering wheel and his mind somewhere else. "So what will he do when he finds out his exes are going on a road trip alone?"

Chanyeol slows down for a while, and Kyungsoo meets his eyes for the first time that hour. "Run away?" they say simultaneously, then erupt into a lovely peal of laughter. "Jinx!"

And then it's the quickest half hour after that. Chanyeol opens the sunroof of his car, and Kyungsoo doesn't fight the strange urge to stand on his seat and scream his lungs out as they drive along the open road. There's Lady Antebellum playing on the stereo, loud, almost ear-shattering, but there's nothing in Kyungsoo's ears but the sound of Chanyeol's deep voice, lyrics stumbling from his lips in a clumsy enunciation, Chanyeol's tone wrapping around and keeping him warm despite the cold brush of autumn air on his skin.

☻ ☻ ☻

Kalbongsan Natural Recreation Forest is a welcome break from the city noise. Autumn has just started to seep through the leaves, turning from green to a nice share of golden brown. It's a different story in spring, with the garden flush with flowers of all kinds, but the warm hues of the leaves are enough to drape a blanket of warmth over their shoulders.

"Would you kill me if I said I didn't want to leave now," Chanyeol asks, teasing. His gaze hasn't left the scene in front of them yet – a wonderful play of colors – and Kyungsoo nudges him with his elbow. "How can you say no to this?"

"We're not saying no to it, just 'wait for a while'," Kyungsoo replies. They spend a few good minutes just circling the garden, nonetheless, bags haphazardly left in the cabin they'd rented for the next few days.

Chanyeol isn't fond of taking pictures, but he loves posing – with what's left of the flowers, with trees, _with rocks_ – and Kyungsoo indulges him, snapping a picture whenever Chanyeol motions to strike a pose with an inanimate object. The best so far is one where Chanyeol is hugging the pillar with the inscription _Welcome to Kalbongsan!_. "Do the duck face," Kyungsoo had called out then, more as a joke than anything else, and Chanyeol followed. The result? A laughing fit that lasted until the time they reach the bus station where they were to wait for their ride to Godaesan. That, and Kyungsoo offering Chaneyol lip balm because _your lips are chapped. It'll get worse when we reach the mountains._

"You're concerned about _my lips?_ " Chanyeol asks, laughing a little, and Kyungsoo only rolls his eyes in response. He doesn't answer, just gives Chanyeol the floor and lets him talk for the next half hour, until they board the bus.

It's not the most comfortable ride for a trip that will stretch until the morning, but they make it work – there aren't too many passengers and the conductor is nice, so they recline their seats and sleep with their figures slumped. Chanyeol jerks every so often, shifting in his position, and Kyungsoo can't be bothered to move around too much. This is the closest he can get to a good sleeping position, after all, even if Chanyeol has his arm crushed beneath all his weight.

There's a pool of drool on Kyungsoo's shoulder when he wakes up, and Chanyeol's sleeping face just centimeters away. It's only six in the morning and they'll still spend a good two hours on the road, so he just doesn't brush Chanyeol off, just reminds himself to not move around too much. Waking up has never been his favorite activity, and he supposes Chanyeol doesn't enjoy it as much, as well.

He fixes his eyes in front of him, at Chanyeol's bright red sneakers, at Chanyeol's hand on his knee.

There's no good explanation for taking this trip with Chanyeol – there's just nothing better to do, really. He already has the Endless Love series memorized like the back of his hand, and while he enjoys silence and quality private time, it's been a while since he's set off on an adventure. There are a thousand things to be grateful for this Chuseok, not just Evangelion finally making sense to him or the horror house having enough people that their scaredules have become slightly more manageable now, and he wouldn't mind shouting it at the top of his lungs, ten kilometers away from the North Korean border.

And then there's Chanyeol's subtle ways of persuasion and Kyungsoo's weak resolve. It's the worst combination ever.

Chanyeol rouses with a tiny jerk of the body just a few minutes before they reach the bus station. "You've been up for a while?" Chanyeol asks, voice still heavy with sleep, and Kyungsoo only shakes his head a little. Chanyeol's hums a small tune under his breath as he keeps his head rested on Kyungsoo's shoulder, eyes only half open and focused on the scenery just outside the window. The fit if awkward, if not painful, but Chanyeol doesn't seem to mind. Instead, he nuzzles Kyungsoo's shoulder and wraps his arms around Kyungsoo's arm like it's a bolster. Kyungsoo cocks an eyebrow at him.

"Do you mind?" Chanyeol asks, but it comes out more as a statement than anything else, like he's simply declaring that hey, I'll make a bolster out of your arm; I'm not asking for your permission. Kyungsoo scoffs. It's still too early and he can't find his voice just yet, all of his words a mess in his still sleepy brain. If, back in Bokjeong, it took him an hour to boot his brain, out here in the calmness of Godaesan's vicinity without the pressure of work breathing down his neck, it takes twice as much time to wake his brain cells up. Chanyeol's warm touch keeps interrupting his brain signals; it's disconcerting.

"You drooled on my shirt," Kyungsoo mumbles. Chanyeol chuckles, buries his nose in the wet patch on Kyungsoo's shirt. Kyungsoo groans but finds himself smiling when he feels the soft touch of Chanyeol's nose through the material of his shirt. "You're really gross, did you know that?"

"My sister tells me that all the time," Chanyeol says. WIth one last squeeze, he pulls away and sits up. Kyungsoo can feel it now, the traitorous wave of cold creeping up his arm. He looks at Chanyeol's hands, his slender fingers, his sleepy smile. "So I'm used to it already. And yeah, I actually do something about it sometimes. Just–" He yawns, then quickly clasps a hand over his mouth when Kyungsoo widens his eyes at him. "Just not now. Too early. Too sleepy."

"We're going hiking in a while. You better wake up your senses."

"Hmm…" Chanyeol yawns again, and the stretches his arms in front of him. "Wake me up?"

Two options – he can smush Chanyeol's face with his hands or he can jab him lightly on the arm. Hidden option number three, he can kiss Chanyeol, nip his bottom lip lightly, suck on his tongue and take all of Chanyeol's drowsiness away, but scare partners don't do that. Scare partners don't suck face when they're outside of work. Scare partners turned hiking buddies don't just decide to kiss before they alight the bus because they have to wake up, awaken their senses, make sure that their limbs and organs cooperate before going on a hike. Do Kyungsoo doesn't do that, won't do that to Park Chanyeol. Option number three shouldn't even be an option.

Kyungsoo pinches Chanyeol's nose, then Chanyeol's cheeks. "Wake up, partner. I'm not carrying you the entire hike."

"We can take turns," Chanyeol singsongs, nudging Kyungsoo in his side, and Kyungsoo only rolls his eyes. He's found his words now, all lodged in his throat, scared to fight their way up for a clumsy enunciation. So he fights back with a nudge, harder than the one Chanyeol has given him, and taps Chanyeol's ass when Chanyeol takes too long to walk to the door of the bus.

Autumn air tousles Chanyeol's hair, softens the sharp angles of his cheeks. He's flashing his toothy grin again, pink gums peeking. "Ready, partner?" Chanyeol asks, and Kyungsoo nods as he zips himself up, pulls his beanie down his ears. Chanyeol extends a hand in his direction, gloves hugging Chanyeol's slender fingers.

"Ready whenever you are," Kyungsoo replies. He takes Chanyeol's hand and squeezes it hard.

☻ ☻ ☻

The reviews online weren't kidding when they said that Godaesan's hiking trail is a challenge. The path is steep and rocky, and if Kyungsoo so much as looks away for a second then he might miss a step and land his feet on uneven ground. Chanyeol stays focused, eyebrows furrowed as he grips the ropes tied to the trees tight, and Kyungsoo can hear his faint counting. "I stopped keeping track after 100 steps," Kyungsoo kids, and Chanyeol stops abruptly in his tracks as he chuckles.

"My knees are going to fucking give away," Chanyeol mumbles, words getting muffled by his scarf, and tries to pull it down with one hand, but his fingers seem to have frozen. Kyungsoo gestures for him to continue walking – they're five steps away from the closest flat surface, and Kyungsoo's not about to risk falling down more than a hundred steps just so he can fix Chanyeol's scarf.

Chanyeol marches in place as Kyungsoo tiptoes, fussing with the article of clothing. "Not choking?" Kyungsoo asks, and Chanyeol shakes his head and offers a grin. "Great. Because I'll choke you later if you decide to give up halfway through."

"I'm _old,_ " Chanyeol groans. "We should've brought a bottle of soju with us to keep us warm."

"I am _not_ drinking while hiking with you. Nope." Kyungsoo walks past him, but he doesn't get far – the next series of steps is steep, a dangerous climb if he has a bottle of soju in one hand instead of nothing but the railings in both. He looks over his shoulder, past the expanse of space in front of him and straight at Chanyeol. "Hey. You're the one who wanted to take the climb. You're not leaving me."

Chanyeol pouts, bottom lip jutting out. His lips are too red. The tip of his nose, too; Kyungsoo wants to lean over and pinch it, breathe color back into Chanyeol's pale skin, his strained eyes. "Nah. You'll have to do better to get rid of me. You're stuck."

Stuck is a good way to describe Kyungsoo's situation right now – stuck to Chanyeol in this mountain trail with no other path to take, no chance to run away, stuck in this mess that he's made for himself. There's no way but up or back down, into Chanyeol's stiff arms that might as well lead them to disaster. Chanyeol's has his hands on Kyungsoo's waist, fingers digging into his sides whenever they have to take a huge step, and Kyungsoo can feel the numbing cold settling just above his hips with every hard press of Chanyeol's hands on his skin.

Chanyeol looks so much lighter now, though, despite the furrow of his eyebrows, like he's dropped bits and pieces of his worries on their way to the top, marking each step, and doesn't intend to get them back anytime soon, maybe ever.

"Smile," Chanyeol whispers in his ear when they reach a much more straightforward path, then gestures at the signage on the broomstick. Characters spelling out _laugh!_ jump out at him in big, bold strokes. They're more than cheers to help people make it to the top; they're like these little reminders that tell you to take a deep breath, cast your worries aside, throw them on the ground and don't ever plan to pick them up because that's where they belong. Chanyeol laughs at each of them, his grip on Kyungsoo's waist relaxing, and Kyungsoo finds himself chuckling along. Chanyeol starts to hum a tune even as the hike becomes more challenging, steeper, the air thinning around them. He doesn't feel the tension in his lungs even as he tries to sing along.

Only when he pulls Chanyeol up to the peak, arms almost giving away, does he feel the fatigue in his limbs, the cold wrath of autumn air, the weight of Chanyeol's arms around his body when Chanyeol instinctively wraps them around him in an effort to not fall back down. Only when Chanyeol giggles and whispers, "We actually made it," does he realize how close they are – chest to chest, cheek to cheek – how fast the remaining heat in his fingers spills from the tips and turns into a numbing cold, how heavy the beating in his chest is, and how Chanyeol's heartbeat matches the rhythm.

"I can't believe it," Chanyeol mumbles, lips grazing Kyungsoo's ears just lightly. Kyungsoo swallows hard and drops his hands to his sides. Chanyeol's grip on him is still tight, but it isn't suffocating. "We made it to Geumhaksan's peak."

Kyungsoo jerks and leans back, eyes widening as he meets Chanyeol's gaze. " _Geumhaksan?_ "

Chanyeol pulls away now, just a few inches back to give Kyungsoo enough space to move around. There's probably a good kilometer from where they are and a pillar down below, one Kyungsoo recalls bearing the inscription _Godasesan mountain's peak_. They could have stopped there – Chanyeol could have asked Kyungsoo to stop there because his knees were already getting the better of him – yet they pressed on, conquering a trail just east of the one they'd originally planned to go to. "Are you stupid? You said–" But Chanyeol hadn't pulled Kyungsoo back, and Chanyeol is laughing now, and Kyungsoo wants to punch him in the face because they're not professional hikers. This brand of physical strain is not something they're used to.

"C'mon, the view here is beautiful." Chanyeol snakes an arm around Kyungsoo's shoulder and pulls him close. There's no heat in the press of their bodies, but he can see the flush of Chanyeol's cheeks.

Chanyeol's nose is still too red. Kyungsoo gives in, reaches up and pinches it, then asks, "Are your knees okay?"

The small smile on Chanyeol's lips widens, tugs further up until his eyes almost disappear into half-moon crescents. "I'll live," Chanyeol whispers, like a faint voice in the wind, and leans his head on Kyungsoo's own.

Kyungsoo keeps his eyes on the scene ahead of them, hints of the North Korean border just beyond the thin wisps of clouds, the blue sky, all the baggages they've left behind feet below. He sinks into the touch, leaning in just a little, and lets the smile on his lips have its way when Chanyeol starts to laugh – light, bright, warm.

☻ ☻ ☻

Chanyeol insists on having a picnic at the peak, waving a bottle of makgeolli in front of Kyungsoo as they make their way to a more secluded part of the area. They're closer to the edge now, a few good feet away, and the place is blessedly quiet. Some of the people they'd hiked up with didn't go up the rest of the way, returning from Godaesan's peak to the tent below for a meal, but Chanyeol's ready with a couple of rolls of kimbap and chips. "Don't tell me this is all we have to drink," is all that Kyungsoo says as Chanyeol lays the food down in front of them, in tiny containers. He takes one slice of kimbap, but Chanyeol beats him to it – takes it between his chopsticks and pokes Kyungsoo's lips with it.

"I've got another bottle of makgeolli," Chanyeol says as Kyungsoo chews his food, then flashes a v-sign. "Let's finish this first. We're not even supposed to drink that much until the first day of Chuseok."

"And yet you brought two bottles with you," Kyungsoo says when Chanyeol stuffs two pieces of kimbap in his mouth. "Why did I tag along again?"

"Because I'm cute and you can't resist my charms," Chanyeol answers albeit muffled, voice bright, lilting. Kyungsoo swallows around his kimbap. "And because Endless Love is really boring. I can't _believe_ you actually watched that one hundred times!"

"Only five," Kyungsoo corrects, then sinks his teeth into another slice.

Chanyeol uncaps the bottle and takes a long swig, then hands it to Kyungsoo after. Kyungsoo stares at it for a while, an eyebrow cocked as if asking, _we're really going to share one bottle? But you have two–_ It's not as if he hasn't done this before with Jongdae or Joonmyun or even Jongin, or that Chanyeol hasn't just fed him with his own chopsticks, so he silences the other voices in his head as he takes a deep breath and mumbles, "This is a bad idea."

"Could be," Chanyeol whispers. He looks up at Kyungsoo, a small smile on his lips. "But I feel so much better now. This hike may not be the best for my knees, but–"

Kyungsoo thrusts the bottle in Chanyeol's chest. "Drink."

Chanyeol chuckles. "You're really cute when you try not to act concerned, you know that?" He reaches over, then ruffles Kyungsoo's hair under his hoodie. "You're like an angry bear on the outside but, deep inside, you're 100% jelly. Or candy. A really cute gummy bear." Chanyeol hiccups, then leans closer to poke Kyungsoo's nose lightly. "My pocket partner."

Kyungsoo chokes – on his kimbap, his own spit, Chanyeol's words. "Did you just call me a gummy bear?"

Chanyeol sneers, then lunges forward to capture him in a head lock. "My teeny tiny gummy bear!"

His first instinct, is to push the food away from them; the second, to seal the makgeolli bottle. Muscle memory tells him to claw at air, though, and flail his arms around in an attempt to make Chanyeol stop, but Chanyeol is unrelenting, his other hand flat on Kyungsoo's belly, trying to tickle him through the thick layers of clothes. He falls back into Chanyeol, head rested on Chanyeol's thigh, and from where he is, Chanyeol's features look softer, calmer. The soft rays of the sun paint his cheeks a warm hue and the smile on his lips tugs hard on his cheeks, makes the corners of his eyes crinkle. Chanyeol's cackling and Kyungsoo has never been fond of that sound, really, but Chanyeol makes it work somehow. Maybe it's just the blowing wind at work, softening the cracks, or that he knows he doesn't have a choice but to listen to this music, anyway. He's stuck – in this mountain, stuck to Chanyeol – and he hasn't really made an effort to find a way out.

Yet again, option three – he can kiss Chanyeol senseless and swallow the shrill sound, swallow all of Chanyeol's words and silence Chanyeol with a swipe of the tongue. He reaches up, fingers slipping beneath the placket of Chanyeol's jacket. Chanyeol chokes, but the laughter is still there, only slightly muted as he looks down at Kyungsoo, cheeks flush and beads of tears at the corners of his eyes. "What are you gonna do now, huh?" Chanyeol says, challenging, and Kyungsoo balls the hand that's on Chanyeol's jacket in a fist.

"I'm gonna choke you," Kyungsoo begins, then slides his hand up until he can feel Chanyeol's collarbones under his touch. The pulse at the base of Chanyeol's throat is fast, _loud_ , beating against Kyungsoo's fingers. He's long stopped feeling the even rise and fall of Chanyeol's chest against his arm. Chanyeol darts out his tongue, swiping on his bottom lip, and Kyungsoo follows the movement with his eyes. Chanyeol's lips are too inviting.

"Or you can slam my face into the ground," Chanyeol whispers.

But Kyungsoo doesn't. He's only pulling Chanyeol closer by the collar, his nails scraping against his palm. Chanyeol's close now, too close that he can make out the pores of Chanyeol's skin, the tiny pimples lines on this cheeks. His lips, chapped by the wind and the hike, and his gaze that slowly traces the bridge of Kyungsoo's nose, traveling further south to the dip of Kyungsoo's lips, his mouth. Here Chanyeol is – less than a breath, a decision away – and there's nothing but silence around them, and Chanyeol licks his lips again as if invitation, like he knows Kyungsoo has no energy left to resist.

In the distance, Kyungsoo hears something snap, followed by hushed voices. Chanyeol looks up, eyes locking back on Kyungsoo's own, and Kyungsoo jerks back. He takes this as his cue to drop his hand, to pull away, but he sneaks in a light pinch in Chanyeol's side. There's the sound of Chanyeol's strangled cry, but their gazes haven't drifted yet, like Chanyeol's assessing and waiting in equal parts, and Kyungsoo can't be bothered to do anything else.

Another snap of the branch, and Kyungsoo looks away. The food and makgeolli are unharmed just a few inches from where they are. Chanyeol reaches out, then, takes a long swig of the drink and says, "We should finish these soon so we can go back before noon."

Kyungsoo nods, takes a deep breath, and pops a piece of kimbap in his mouth. Chanyeol starts talking about the little boys who frequent Seungjin Toy, but occasionally Kyungsoo catches Chanyeol staring at his lips. If either of them notices the change, they don't bring it up; instead, Chanyeol holds out his hand when they take the trip down, empty makgeolli bottles tucked inside his bag. The alcohol makes it harder to focus, but easier to think of threading their fingers together.

"Let's do this?" Chanyeol asks. Kyungsoo nods without question, but lets his fingers hover before taking Chanyeol's hand in his own. They pass the broomsticks again and Kyungsoo hasn't wished harder in his life for magic to be real, to have the ability to turn back time and undo things. He then looks at their intertwined fingers, Chanyeol's flushed cheeks, Chanyeol worrying his bottom lip more than the usual and thinks, _I did that. I did this to him._

Chanyeol tightens his grip on his hand and Kyungsoo feels the pulse on his palm. _And he did this to me._

☻ ☻ ☻

Chanyeol's conked out for most part of the trip back to Kalbongsan, but Kyungsoo knows when he's toeing the line between half-awake and pretending to be asleep. Chanyeol's head lolls forward when he's completely out, unmindful of the lack of breathing space between them, but when he's awake enough only his hair touches Kyungsoo's face. He still has a hand on Kyungsoo's thigh, though, grip tight but not uncomfortable, and there's nowhere else that Kyungsoo can place his hands, really, so he slots his fingers between Chanyeol's own.

When he wakes up, mind clearer and without the thin veil of alcohol shielding him from his own realizations, he feels a blanket cold envelop him.

He can still see it clearly, the look on Chanyeol's face when they were at the peak with nothing better to do but to kiss. Chanyeol's cheeks were flush and his lips were full and red, and Kyungsoo knew they'd look good locked with his own, but that's about it – neither of them inched closer, like they were both waiting for something, anything to happen. It's like a repeat of that _thing_ with Jongdae, except the tension came before the kiss. With Jongdae, everything seemed to fall into place – hands on skin, lips on lips, heart to heart. All action and no explanation.

Chanyeol's been through the same thing, and he really wouldn't want to subject Chanyeol to that. It isn't fair to either of them, but when have emotions been in good terms with logic? When has the battle between mind and heart been fair?

"You're noisy," Chanyeol grumbles, fingers tightening around Kyungsoo's own. He shifts in his position a little, but moves closer to Kyungsoo until his head finds a comfortable fit. "Stop thinking and get some sleep. We still have a few hours."

Kyungsoo takes a shaky breath, but rubs his thumb along the side of Chanyeol's hand. Two hours until they get to Kalbongsang, two more hours with Chanyeol pressed closely to his side. An entire night to think about what _didn't happen_ with Chanyeol lying just beside him.

He closes his eyes and leans his head on Chanyeol's own. If he says something, maybe Chanyeol will stop drowning in the noise and start hearing the music. If he says something, maybe he'll be one step closer to tackling his ghosts to the ground.

"I said, stop thinking."

He chuckles and turns his head to the side just a little, his lips pressed to the crown of Chanyeol's head. "Stopping now, I promise. Sweet dreams."

☻ ☻ ☻

Chanyeol passes out as soon as they get back to the cabin, mouth wide open as he snores and shirt riding up a little. Kyungsoo can still smell the scent of the mountains in Chanyeol's hair, a hint of alcohol in his breath, and he grumbles as he tries to push Chanyeol away from his side of the bed. "Move over, you giant," he whispers, frowning, but he moves Chanyeol carefully – one leg, then another, the same for his arms, and then he lifts Chanyeol gently by his hips. By the time there's enough space for him on the other side of the bed, Chanyeol's mouth has already closed and a corner of his lips is upturned as if in a challenge.

Kyungsoo takes a deep breath, then picks up his towel. Maybe a shower will help wash away all of his worries, flush all of his crazy thoughts away.

But the thing with filing worries away for another day is that they come rushing back as soon as there's silence, when there's none of Chanyeol's bright laughter or speech to keep Kyungsoo from slinking back into his hideout. Every contact of water on skin reminds him of Chanyeol's heavy breathing, his gaze focused on nothing but Kyungsoo's lips, the swipe of Chanyeol's tongue. The fact that he wouldn't have pulled away if Kyungsoo hadn't, and that he wouldn't have broken eye contact if Kyungsoo didn't.

Kyungsoo lathers shampoo in his hair and closes his eyes. There's already a stinging pain in his chest, as it is; he doesn't need more of that.

He hears the sound of the sheets rustling just before he gets back, and finds Chanyeol shifting in his position a bit too much. "Do I really have to do this?" Kyungsoo asks himself, but gets a hand towel, anyway, soaks it in water and wrings out most of it before going back to the room. He starts wiping Chanyeol's face, tucking Chanyeol's hair behind his ears as he goes along, and Chanyeol lets out this light giggle that makes Kyungsoo freeze. He holds his breath until the light laughter subsides only to be replaced by snoring, and he snorts as he wipes the underside of Chanyeol's neck.

_What do I do with you, Park Chanyeol,_ he wants to ask, but he knows better than to think too much – Chanyeol has a strange way of hearing thoughts that he, himself, cannot hear. So he gets Chanyeol in a fresh button up shirt, a threadbare one from Chanyeol's bag, and loose shorts. He'll benefit from this as well, anyway – if Chanyeol has a peaceful enough slumber, then Kyungsoo won't have to deal with flailing arms and having to fight for space. If Chanyeol doesn't rouse from his sleep in the middle of the night then he'll be bright and shining again in the morning.

He gives Chanyeol one last look before pulling away, then leaves the hand towel in the bathroom.

The bedside lamp casts Chanyeol a glow much softer than before, light catching on the spaces between his eyelashes. WIth a deep breath, Kyungsoo leans in, hovering for a moment before moving forward all the way to place a soft kiss on Chanyeol's forehead.

"Good night, Chanyeol," he whispers, mostly to himself, but Chanyeol shifts a little and giggles again. Maybe he's already dreaming, deep in sleep, still taking the trek. Maybe he's someplace else. But his body is here, lying peacefully just beside Kyungsoo's own, and there's nothing but a few inches between them, a whole world of possibilities pulling them together and pushing them away. Kyungsoo shuts his eyes tight, sinking in his pillow, and lets the fatigue from the hike wash over him the same way Chanyeol's warmth had seeped into his clothes, prickling his skin when they were at the peak. Three more days with Chanyeol in this forest, three more days to battle with his ghosts and take them down.

He lies on his side, facing Chanyeol, and smiles a little. This one's got to be the most attractive ghost he's ever seen, one of the warmest, one he'd actually allow into his dreams and more.

☻ ☻ ☻

"Good morning, sunshine."

Kyungsoo blinks a few times, then rolls over so that he's lying flat on his back again. He can feel a dull ache in his thighs, his arms, imprints on his face that can be from the sheets or Chanyeol accidentally resting his arms on his face. It's the morning of Chuseok and he hasn't really formed a habit of waking up early on holidays just yet, but there's another person in the room, freshly showered and grinning at him, even chuckling like he actually looks pathetic lying in bed on a wonderful morning.

He bolts up, looks around, then blinks again. A few feet away, Chanyeol's laughter grows louder and his figure draws nearer. "Sorry, did I wake you up? I was feeling kinda.. er… dirty."

"Hey," is the only thing he manages to say as a response. His throat feels tight and dry, like Chanyeol has knocked out all the air in his lungs by emerging from the bathroom all fresh and clean, towel wrapped around his waist and droplets of water running down his chest. There's a tiny swell of the stomach where the droplets take a funny dip, and Kyungsoo smiles a little. If this is what he'll be waking up to for the next few days, he won't mind getting up this early.

Chanyeol walks over, plopping on the bed unceremoniously. Kyungsoo almost jumps at the sudden dip, and Chanyeol reaches over to ruffle his hair. "Thanks for taking care of my gross self. I was too tired to even freshen up," Chanyeol says. His eyes are soft, half-mast, but Kyungsoo can see the faint crinkles at the corners. His arms feel heavy but he reaches up, nonetheless, presses his thumbs on the corners of Chanyeol's eyes. "Huh?"

"Wrinkles," he mumbles, then shakes his head as he tries to ease the lines. Chanyeol chuckles, giggles, and soon Chanyeol is leaning in, resting his forehead on Kyungsoo's own.

"You're really cute when you're sleepy."

"'m always cute." Kyungsoo scrunches his nose. "I mean not cute. I mean–"

"You mean really, really cute," Chanyeol whispers. He moves forward, lips grazing the tip of Kyungsoo's nose, and he tilts his head until his lips touch Kyungsoo's cheek. "Cutest person ever."

It takes a while to register the warm press of Chanyeol's lips on his skin, the vibrations of Chanyeol's laughter, the sound of it too loud but not jarring, not deafening in his ears. He takes in a shaky breath and he feels the rest of his body jolt to life – brain going on hyperdrive as he steals a glance at Chanyeol's face, too close, at the way Chanyeol closes his eyes and the way the corners of his mouth lift as he presses another kiss on Kyungsoo's cheek. Chanyeol's fingers are cold on his nape and he shivers a little at the touch, and the unfamiliar heat that rolls down his stomach makes his breath hitch. None of it takes more than a couple of seconds, but Kyungsoo feels as if this has been going on forever, the push and pull and pull even closer until they're slipping from the trekking path, until Kyungsoo's head is on Chanyeol's thigh and there's nothing left to do but to kiss.

"Good… morning," he says, breathless, shaky. Chanyeol leans back little by little, inching away, the same smile on his lips. Chanyeol looks good, too good with that dopey smile of his and his hair sticking to his face and his eyes fixed on no one, nothing else but Kyungsoo, and Kyungsoo wants to pull the covers over his head and just let the bed swallow him or something, and– "You used my shampoo."

"Ah! About that…" Chanyeol looks away. He worries his bottom lip. Fuck, those lips look good even without alcohol to cloud Kyungsoo's judgment. "I forgot where I put mine, so–"

"Doesn't matter." Kyungsoo tears his eyes from Chanyeol's pretty face and pushes himself off the bed. "Breakfast?"

Chanyeol's gaze lingers for a while, then he nods as he gets off the bed. He pulls a shirt over his head. "Yeah, let's."

The beautiful thing about spending Chuseok outside the household is getting to experience it in a slightly different manner. In the food hall, the staff have started the welcoming ceremony for the spirits of the ancestors marked by the first pour of makgeolli. The sound of chopsticks being tapped against bronze bowls fills the air for the next few minutes, and they bow whenever they have to pay respect to their ancestors. The scent of incense is thick in the air, starts to stick to Kyungsoo's hair, and he's taken to a few years back, when his parents were still alive and Jongdae and Jongdeok usually came over to experience a traditional Chuseok ceremony in the tiny Do household.

"I had to head a ceremony like this back when I was 25," Chanyeol whispers while they're down on their knees for the third time, foreheads still pressed to the wooden planks of the floor. He tries to imagine Chanyeol in hanbok, the hem tapering off somewhere in the calves, the cloth not enough to cover his long legs. He snorts and swallows the rest of his thoughts when Chanyeol nudges him in his side. " _Respect,_ Do Kyungsoo-ssi!"

"You started it," Kyungsoo whispers right back, and Chanyeol cackles, saying something that sounds a lot like _are you twelve? Are we twelve?_

Chanyeol talks about the usual ceremony in the Park household during Chuseok – something akin to what they've just seen, but with a slightly modern twist only because they don't wear hanbok anymore and simply come in in business attire. "It's to save my dad time from having to change into meeting-appropriate clothes," Chanyeol explains, then takes a sip of his sogogi mooguk. "Who even works during Chuseok? My dad, apparently. And my mom. And my sister, even if she hates it. The entire family, actually. Then we just meet in the evening to eat and drink soju."

Kyungsoo looks up from his food and furrows his eyebrows. "Can't you take a break or something? You can't just make our ancestors wait."

Chanyeol snorts. "Not when the rest of the world isn't celebrating Chuseok." He pops a piece of kimchi in his mouth and chews on it, the corners of his lips tugging down. "And construction's always ongoing so I have to be on top of supply requests. Can't let construction stop in, let's say, Cambodia just because the Park family's celebrating in Korea. Materials won't get shipped out without my go signal."

"Oh? You're a boss?"

"Sort of." Chanyeol chuckles. "Well, fine, I am. I _was_ , until I upped and told my parents that I was quitting because I was sick half of the time and being on-call 24/7 isn't something humans actually do. And well, they tried to stop me but I told them to suck it."

Kyungsoo nods slowly, an eyebrow raised as he keeps his gaze fixed on Chanyeol. Some of the fatigue he'd carried back when they were hiking is back – in the dark circles under his eyes, in the peculiar twist of his mouth, in the way he drums his fingers on the table too quickly – but his voice is steady, unwavering, rife with the same courage he'd had when he faced his parents.

"You… didn't really tell them to suck it, did you?"

"I actually did," Chanyeol says, laughing lightly. "They didn't take it too well, but–" Chanyeol shrugs, then falls back into his seat. His chopsticks hover the plate filled with jeon for a while, before he takes the zucchini one and bites off one portion of it. "I was dreading every waking moment of my life and I hadn't felt so alive until I did that and woke up at ten in the morning the following day. That's a sign that I did the right thing, right?"

There are many things that Kyungsoo can associate with Chanyeol, and living in the shadow of regret isn't one of them. Chanyeol _does_ seem like the type who'd march up to his parents to express his concerns, but not without at least trying to work things out by himself at first. Chanyeol is patient and kind, yes, but he isn't a push over. Push his buttons and he'll smile at you until push comes to shove. Then he'll come back at you with twice as much power, but he'll apologize if he hits you too hard. And then you'll be left wondering in a corner what you've done wrong, how you could have done something to someone like him, how to make things right. Chanyeol has that sort of effect on people – keeps your mind busy with thoughts in the noisiest way possible, then makes you sink into a fit of silence that isn't so paralyzing, isn't deafening yet, but close to it.

"I admire your courage," Kyungsoo admits, then drops a piece of pork in Chanyeol's bowl. "Pretty risky, but it gets things done."

"Risk is my middle name," Chanyeol replies, winking. Kyungsoo sinks his teeth into a piece of kimchi and pushes the strangled noises threatening to crawl up his throat.

"They want me to at least think of a business worth investing in, if I don't want to take over the construction materials business," Chanyeol says after a while, just before he places his chopsticks on the rest. "I'm thinking of something I can enjoy _and_ treat as work, at the same time. Dunno if that's even possible. I mean–"

"An amusement park," Kyungsoo offers. Chanyeol's eyes widen, and a small smile tugs up at the corners of his lips. "I mean, you enjoy scaring the shit out of people so you can have that there, but you also enjoy just… seeing people happy, so maybe that would work?" He worries his bottom lip, sucking it in. Chanyeol's gaze is focused, intense in the way he squints as he nods slowly. "That's just a suggestion. For all I know, you're afraid of heights–"

"We went up two mountains, Soo. If I was afraid of heights, I probably would've gone back down as soon as we got to Godaesan's peak."

"Fine, you're not afraid of heights. Clowns? Disney princesses? Kids?"

"Silence, just silence," Chanyeol says, then reaches for Kyungsoo's hands over the table. Kyungsoo presses his lips together, tight and firm, but he holds Chanyeol's gaze. He curls his fingers when Chanyeol grips his hands tighter. The grin on Chanyeol's lips is blinding. "Like this, when you do that withdrawing thing of yours. It freaks me out."

Kyungsoo frowns. "I'm a gummy bear in cheap packaging. Or maybe one of those factory defects."

"A gummy bear, nonetheless," Chanyeol replies, then scrunches his nose at Kyungsoo. "I'm interested in hearing that amusement park plan."

Chanyeol slips into one of his more serious expressions, but his hands are still warm on Kyungsoo's own, the slow stroke of his thumb along the side of Kyungsoo's hands gentle, intimate. Chanyeol keeps his eyes on Kyungsoo as Kyungsoo goes into the details of putting up an amusement park, all of its kinks, and Chanyeol giggles to fill some of the white noise. Kyungsoo's throat is dry and tight and his chest feels so full, but he feels oddly at peace despite the uncomfortable stretch of his arms. The steady beating of Chanyeol's pulse against his skin is enough to lull him into a familiar calm, something that feels strangely like home – seemingly thousands of miles away but actually right here in front of him, in Chanyeol's big, warm hands.

☻ ☻ ☻

Chanyeol develops a fondness for hanging out near the watermill, legs crossed beneath his weight and notebook tucked under his chin. "I used to have a better thinking pose," he mumbles when Kyungsoo cocks an eyebrow at him. His lips are drawn to a thin line, eyes sharp and focused. "Don't judge. Stop judging!"

Kyungsoo laughs a little and moves to his side, eluding the jab Chanyeol throws at his arm only by a few inches. "Not doing anything," he says in defense, and Chanyeol simply sticks out his tongue at him before sifting through the pages of his notebook, running his thumbs through the characters written on it.

When Chanyeol's deep in thought and has his business thinking cap on, his expression takes a funny turn – his eyebrows are furrowed and he's squinting, and his mouth is twisted slightly with his bottom lip jutted out. He drums his fingers on his thigh, pace quickening as he takes a breath deeper than the previous. It's like he's running through a routine in his head, or the has something playing in his ears, a song that speaks of what he wants to put on paper but he just can't put it in words. "Need help?" Kyungsoo offers after a while, once he's done soaking in everything the small pond near them can offer.

Chanyeol looks up, bottom lip still caught between his teeth. Kyungsoo remembers asking Jongdae the same thing, and Jongdae had looked at him with the same kind of wonder but with even more confusion before grabbing him by his shirt and crushing their mouths together. Chanyeol's different, though – he knows how to enunciate what the thinks, how he feels, what he really wants to say. Sometimes it just takes fifty feet of long sentences to do so, but he gets there eventually. The only thing he's not sure of is his control over his limbs.

"Yeah, sure, but I don't have anything yet." He flashes the notebook at Kyungsoo, everything that he's written down crossed out or drawn over with weird faces. Kyungsoo spots one near the edge of the page, a wide-eyed kid with messy hair. No way in hell is that him. "So if you have any ideas, shoot."

"Two things," Kyungsoo begins, then moves closer until their knees bump. "One, my hair's not that messy. Two, do you _really_ want to put up an amusement park?"

"I'm not quite sure yet, but it kind of excites me? And that's not even you," Chanyeol teases, sticking out his tongue. Kyungsoo reaches out, snatching the notebook from Chanyeol, but ends up smushing his face on Chanyeol's chest instead. "Hey!"

In the end, Chanyeol comes up with a concept for the amusement park that Kyungsoo just laughs at. Chanyeol doesn't take offense, though, simply pinches his cheeks before saying, "We should go get dinner." Chanyeol holds out his hand, the corners of his lips tugging up as he urges, _hey, come on,_ and really, Kyungsoo can get there on his own, without having to hold Chanyeol's hand like a child, but at least children aren't afraid taking necessary risks, of braving storms, of looking up at a not-stranger and just trusting him with everything he has.

Kyungsoo stuffs his hands in his pockets and takes a few steps ahead, but Chanyeol soon catches up and hooks an arm around Kyungsoo's own. He only looks up at Chanyeol, lets his gaze linger until Chanyeol breaks into a grin and makes strange faces at him. "You're lucky I like you," he mumbles, and Chanyeol hiccups and promptly falls silent, quietly letting himself be dragged to the food hall, their last destination for the night.

"I'm lucky you _what?_ "

"You're lucky I'm too hungry to kick you in the balls," he replies. He pinches Chanyeol in the waist, then says, "Race you to the food hall!"

" _Fuck._ "

The cool evening wind blows against his face, tousles his hair, makes it hard for him to see through the trees and not stumble on the rocky path. He's not used to this, not when they're tasked to literally drag their feet at work and watch people run away from them, scared out of their wits, but it's fun. He gets it now, why people run away – to not get caught grinning from ear to ear, to not let their defenses crumble so easily. So people put up a fight and so does Kyungsoo, quick on his feet as he draws closer to the food hall. Chanyeol's not too far, just a few feet away, and it isn't until Kyungsoo touches the door, until he feels Chanyeol's sweaty hands on his shoulders, sliding down his back and snaking around his waist, not until Chanyeol pulls him close for a hug that he registers his victory.

"Get your sweaty self off of me," he grumbles, but he knows Chanyeol can see the smile on his lips. Chanyeol plays along, pulling him closer, until a few people pass them and ask them to _please step aside, don't block the way! Kids these days…_ Chanyeol pulls them to a side but keeps his arms there, as if in revenge for losing, and Kyungsoo just lets him.

☻ ☻ ☻

It's Jongdae's morning call that rouses Kyungsoo from his sleep the following day.

"Happy Chuseok!" comes Jongdae's cheery greeting, too bright at seven in the morning. Kyungsoo looks around him, then at the figure in front of him when he hears a sharp snore from close by. Chanyeol's lips are parted, saliva pooling on the bed sheets. His sleeping face is ugly, at best, terribly unattractive, but with the soft morning light painting Chanyeol a nice glow, he makes the expression work, turns pimple-pink into a nice shade of rose.

"Same," Kyungsoo mumbles, trying his best not to sound too glum. Jongdae should know better than to call at an early hour. Even on work days, Kyungsoo had insisted on following the no-calls-before-nine rule because work didn't start until ten in the morning, anyway. But Jongdae isn't so fond of rules set by other people; he's the only authority he, himself, recognizes, that asshole. "Home with Jongdeok-hyung?"

"Nah, he's–" Detached, as always. And Jongdae's probably alone, bored out of his wits at seven in the morning. Jongdae should do himself a favor and go back to bed, but making things easier for himself has never been Jongdae's specialty. "Went back to his family last night, after dinner. Said his wife needed him and… Yeah, that's about it. Nothing interesting. I miss work and driving you guys insane," Jongdae confesses. Something rustles on the other end of the line and just beside Kyungsoo, as well. Chanyeol scoots closer, nuzzling Kyungsoo's hip. It's painfully cute.

After a while, Jongdae asks, "You?"

"I'm okay," Kyungsoo replies, earnest. "Was okay until you woke me up this early. Seriously, seven–"

"I dropped by your house last night, wanted to give you some songpyeon. I know my mom's songpyeon's still your favorite." Jongdae clicks his tongue. "Where are you?"

_Far away from you,_ Kyungsoo wants to say. Far away from his worries and the reality that between him and Chanyeol lies a hurdle named Kim Jongdae. There's nothing here in Kalbongsan that reminds him of Jongdae aside from Chanyeol, the many ways that they are different, and some few ones that make them alike. They could be twins separated at birth, only Chanyeol is more accepting – of change, the need for confrontations, of help. One of them has to be the lesser evil.

"Kalbongsan," Kyungsoo answers. He yawns, hoping to drown out Jongdae's words, but Jongdae waits until he's done before speaking.

"Alone?"

He looks at Chanyeol's sleeping figure beside him, then says, "No. Not alone."

Jongdae's breathing is heavy on the other end of the line, like he wants to say something but can't, as always. Like he's bitten off his tongue even before he could decide to speak and Kyungsoo gets to laugh at him for it… for the nth time since they've known each other. "Alright."

"You enjoy your break, okay?" Kyungsoo says. He swallows around the tightness of his throat, then, "Post-Chuseok rush, remember?"

"There's no such thing–"

"There is, now," Kyungsoo rushes. "Stop thinking. Just relax," he says now, patience thinning, but he knows Jongdae will interpret it as concern. It works, either way. "Please."

"You, too," Jongdae replies after a while, laughing lightly. "And enjoy."

When he ends the call, Chanyeol's lying flat on his back, staring up at him with a small smile on his lips. "He wasn't asking us to report to work, was he?" he asks, and Kyungsoo only wipes his hand on Chanyeol's face, dragging his fingers slowly before resting his hand on Chanyeol's chest, dead center. He keeps his hand there for a while and thinks, what would Jongdae have said if he found out that he and Chanyeol were together on Chuseok, if he found out that they took a hike up two mountains when Jongdae couldn't even make Kyungsoo ride a rollercoaster? What if Jongdae finds out– What then? But then Chanyeol rests his hand on top of Kyungsoo's own and his thoughts melt away with Chanyeol's warm touch. It's a nice, snug fit, the way Chanyeol's hand envelops the entirety of Kyungsoo's. The smile on Chanyeol's lips burns even more.

"You should go back to sleep," Chanyeol whispers. He tightens his hold on Kyungsoo's hand then pulls him down, face-first, into his chest. "Too early."

"Breakfast starts at 7."

"And lasts until 10:30." Chanyeol lays a palm flat on the back of Kyungsoo's head, then slowly slides his hand down to Kyungsoo's nape. "Take your own advice and enjoy your break. _Post-Chuseok rush–_ "

Kyungsoo grunts into Chanyeol's shirt. He can smell the faint scent of his soap and his shampoo, and he feels his stomach lurch; he'll charge Chanyeol for using his toiletries tomorrow. "Shut up."

Chanyeol only hums in response, something Kyungsoo recognizes as one of those songs playing on the radio on their way to Kalbongsan. With a deep breath, he closes his eyes and lets Chanyeol's faint singing drown out Jongdae's voice in his head, lulling him to a peaceful slumber.

☻ ☻ ☻

The best part of breaks is not having to feel guilty about waking up late, and getting up from bed even later.

They don't leave the room until ten in the morning, catching breakfast in the food hall just in time, and they spend a few good hours in the gardens, with Chanyeol running his ideas for the amusement park by Kyungsoo. "Wouldn't it be great if we made one for adults? Like, give oldies like us the chance to be children again?" Chanyeol asks, the corners of his lips tugging up in accord. There's a lilt somewhere in his voice, as if emphasizing _oldies_ and _chance_ , but Kyungsoo files that sound for another day. His mind's already filled with business plans, as it is; Chanyeol doesn't need to take up another half of his brain and make his thoughts go spinning.

"Wouldn't it be great if we actually had time to go to amusement parks, though?" he asks now. Chanyeol puffs his cheeks out, deflates, then sticks his middle finger up at Kyungsoo. "I'm just being realistic."

"You're a party-pooper," Chanyeol retorts, growling. Then later, he continues, "What if _you_ had time, though? Like, if I hired you to work for me and I gave you a more manageable workload–"

"If the price is right, I suppose," Kyungsoo says. He turns to Chanyeol with a small smile, a quirk of the lip. Chanyeol returns the favor and pinches his cheek.

An open secret: Kyungsoo's fee is negotiable, and it doesn't take much for him to lower his fee – the promise of good coffee for a year, maybe a few months, and warm arms to hold him close. Chanyeol has both the means and the limbs to make him feel warm, has lips that can make the negotiation easier, so why the hell not? He's looking for something new, an adventure; Chanyeol a breath of fresh air in his highly polluted life.

Chanyeol puckers his lips, then, and says, "How about this?"

Kyungsoo shakes his head, slams his palm onto Chanyeol's face. He feels the light brush of Chanyeol's lips and thinks, _it's not even a negotiation._

Somewhere between the trip down the walking trail and heading to the forest, Chanyeol convinces him to give it a shot, that he can return to the horror house if Chanyeol ever fucks up and Jongdae won't take it against either of them (on the outside, at least, but he'll give them more shows than the others) because that's how Jongdae is – forgiving, but not quick to forget, always in a hurry to move on to something new, not the one to be tied down to something for too long. By far, the horror house has been Jongdae's longest relationship yet; he'd broken up with himself before, when he was a bit too willing to give in to Kyungsoo's touch, the need for contact, the warm press of Kyungsoo's lips.

"And what's the probability of you screwing up?" Kyungsoo asks.

Chanyeol kicks at a rock, then yelps when he remembers he isn't wearing rubber shoes. His big toe glowers at him in a bold, bright red, but he presses on, just keeps himself from kicking at the ground or anything hard. He picks up two brown leaves and tucks them behind his ears, like they're extensions of his skin. "Zero to none. Or maybe 1%, but I'll keep trying to make things right."

"But what if–"

"What if you stopped worrying?" Chanyeol interrupts, smiling. "It hasn't even materialized yet! If anything, _you're_ the one who's gonna jinx this project. Ah... Why are we friends again?"

A good question that can be answered in many ways – Chanyeol's confidence is a force that just reels you in and keeps you magnetized to him. Chanyeol is fairly easy to get along with. Chanyeol talks a lot but knows when to listen and will actually set aside time to just sit there and nod thoughtfully at anything he hears. Half the time, Kyungsoo isn't even sure if Chanyeol's actually paying attention and not thinking of something else, but Chanyeol proves the second statement wrong every single time when he recounts your own narration to you, gives his opinion on the matter, offers a solution. Chanyeol could be quite the perfect person if he had more control over his limbs, but nobody's perfect. Chanyeol comes pretty close, though.

"I don't know with you," Kyungsoo answers after a while. Chanyeol shakes his head lightly, then reaches over to ruffle Kyungsoo's hair. " _What?_ "

"I only keep you around because you're interesting," Chanyeol says, teasing, then pulls Kyungsoo to the center of a clearing in the forest with both hands, spinning them around. Chanyeol's grip tightens as they turn faster, pace set to the rhythm of Chanyeol's pulse in his hands, but it's not uncomfortable. At best, it's exhilarating; at worst, it feels a lot like falling.

☻ ☻ ☻

Chanyeol discovers Kyungsoo's penchant for singing when they're back in their room, full from dinner and with nothing better to do than to just lie flat on their backs. There's a rerun of the World Cup on TV and Chanyeol has gotten tired of doing a running commentary of it, so Kyungsoo begins to hum a small tune, then sings the lyrics of a song he'd written way back. He remembers performing it in one of the weekly showcases back at the talent agency, remembers the way Jongdae had applauded him after and took him in a hug. _You'll make it big, Kyungsoo,_ Jongdae had said then. _You and me on stage, Kyungsoo, just imagine–_ Drunk on stage lights and applause, Kyungsoo believed him. It wasn't so far-fetched, after all; he'd already been training with the company for three years then, and he was set to debut in 'a few more months'.

"What, you'll just end it like that?" Chanyeol asks now, nudging him in his side. Chanyeol head is still facing forward, but his gaze is focused on Kyungsoo. "You were doing so well!"

Kyungsoo shrugs, then snatches the pillow Chanyeol has been hugging close to his chest for the past few minutes. "I don't sing much anymore, just when I'm alone in the bathroom."

Chanyeol blinks a few times, then says, "Do you want to continue in the bathroom, then? I'd be okay with that."

" _Chanyeol._ "

"That's an original, isn't it?" Chanyeol rolls over, lying flat on his stomach, chin propped on his clasped hands. His back is turned to the television and his eyes are focused on Kyungsoo, like there's nothing else he should be studying. Kyungsoo feels a little weird, nervous, small. It's not as if he can get even tinier. "Never heard it before, and that's saying a lot because I listen to a lot of songs."

Kyungsoo snorts, but scoots closer. "You must be listening to trash, then."

Chanyeol drops one of his hands on Kyungsoo's thigh, tracing circles on it. Kyungsoo has gotten out of his pants now, ditching bottoms for comfortable undies, and Chanyeol's touch is cold on Kyungsoo's skin. A familiar sizzle rolls down his abdomen, all the way to the tips of his toes. His breath hitches as Chanyeol keeps drawing lazy patterns – a diamond, a circle, a heart.

"I can't believe you just talked shit about Snow Patrol and I'm not waging war at you for it." Chanyeol laughs a little, inches closer until Kyungsoo can catch the scent of strawberries in Chanyeol's hair. He'll really have to ask for a refund from Chanyeol – maybe later, when he's no longer busy with noticing the very little distance between them, Chanyeol's hand stopping completely to lie flat on his thigh. Here they are again at the standstill, the traitorous silence that claws at the pit of Kyungsoo's stomach, maybe even at Chanyeol's chest. There's still a hint of laughter bubbling on Chanyeol's lips, though. "What have you done to me?"

"Pacified you, obviously," Kyungsoo whispers. When he leans back into his pillow, Chanyeol follows, craning his neck. Soon, Chanyeol is on his knees, hovering, and the pads of Kyungsoo's fingers are cold, and he can feel the thundering pulse in his palms. Chanyeol isn't even touching him anymore. "Chanyeol, what–"

Chanyeol leans closer, their foreheads bumping. Kyungsoo takes in a shaky breath, words retreating from the tip of his tongue to the back of his throat. Chanyeol is too close, _too much,_ and Kyungsoo's too vulnerable, and he can feel bits and pieces of himself being chipped off with every forward motion, every quick breath Chanyeol takes, every light nip Chanyeol subjects his own lips to.

Silence is thick. His throat is tight and his palms are clammy. Beyond his shoulder, the World Cup ends. Chanyeol leans back, retreating to his side of the bed, sitting on his folded legs. His shoulders have fallen forward and so has the smile on his lips. Up next: the greatest US Open match the world has ever seen, and Do Kyungsoo clasping his hands over his bare thighs.

"I'm turning in," Chanyeol announces, then slumps in his pillows. He throws the covers over his head and whispers, "Good night."

Chanyeol turns into a tiny cocoon on the bed, wrapped in blankets. Tentatively, Kyungsoo moves closer, then wraps his arms around Chanyeol's curled up figure. "Good night," he whispers right back, nose buried in the cloth, and when he feels Chanyeol stir lightly, when he hears the faint gasp, he smiles.

_Sweet dreams,_ he doesn't say, but wraps his arms around Chanyeol's body tighter. _Dream of me._

☻ ☻ ☻

He wakes up with his legs entangled with Chanyeol's own in the morning. The good thing about it is that he's safe from Chanyeol's arms running wild and flailing around in his sleep; the bad thing about it is that he's here, face buried in Chanyeol's chest, inhaling a mix of sleep sweat and Chuseok morning and fabric conditioner. Outside, the sun hasn't quite risen up all the way yet so it can't be that late. He gives Chanyeol a gentle nudge and whispers, "Hey, get up."

Chanyeol stirs, crushing Kyungsoo under his weight a little, and Kyungsoo tries to push Chanyeol off of him. In the end, Chanyeol scoops Kyungsoo in his arms and he plays bolster while watching the sunrise just outside the window. The heat of Chanyeol's body pricks Kyungsoo's skin.

Their things are mostly packed now, and there's nothing but a fresh change of clothes for both of them laid on the bench near the TV. This is it, the end of the trail, the last day of their escape from the busy streets of of the city. Tomorrow, they'll be working again, forced to make people face their fears but make them run away from their ghosts; tomorrow, they'll be back to being fright partners, scare buddies, two zombies protecting their harbor.

So today Kyungsoo flushes out his worries for the very last time, closes his eyes once the sun is fully up and sinks into Chanyeol's touch. This is the closest encounter he's had with his fears, and he's not about to pass on the opportunity to conquer it.

He turns around, looks up at Chanyeol's sleeping face. He's still ugly and his nose is too red. Kyungsoo cranes his neck, places a soft kiss on Chanyeol's nose, then tucks his head under Chanyeol's chin.

Breakfast is almost about to end when they get up, and they march to the food hall in sleepwear. "You have something, right there," Kyungsoo says. He gestures at the tiny bead of drool at a corner of Chanyeol's lips, and Chanyeol just looks at him with sleepy eyes and that lazy smile of his. So he tiptoes, reaches up so he can wipe it off – the drool on Chanyeol's mouth, the easy smile that blooms into a grin, the lethargy from the stretch of Chanyeol's body and Chanyeol straightens up, makes Kyungsoo tiptoe even more.

"Asshole," Kyungsoo mumbles as they resume their walk. Chanyeol chuckles and snakes an arm around his shoulder.

"Your favorite," Chanyeol singsongs. His voice is low and syrupy sweet. Kyungsoo needs his coffee. "Your number one asshole."

☻ ☻ ☻

Kyungsoo has never been fond of endings and goodbyes, so he turns on his heel even before he could look at Kalbongsan over his shoulder to say his last words.

"That was fun," Chanyeol says once they're back on the road, bobbing his head one of Gary Lightbody's songs. This is from one of Snow Patrol's older tracks, something Kyungsoo might have encountered in a TV series. Chanyeol's singing loudly, at the top his lungs, unmindful that they're in an enclosed spaces and of the knowledge that Kyungsoo isn't so sold on loud sounds. He throws occasional glances at Kyungsoo, though, halfway through the chorus, like he's expecting Kyungsoo to sing along or say something. "You okay?"

_Very much okay,_ Kyungsoo wants to say. He looks to his side, up at Chanyeol's smiling face, eyes brimming with youth, then reconsiders. "Yeah, I'm good. Just–" He worries his bottom lip for a while. "Back to reality tomorrow."

There's a curve up ahead, but he manages to catch the quick change of Chanyeol's expression. Chanyeol is only half-smiling now, the other half of his mouth tugged down in a not-smile, but not quite a frown. Chanyeol's deciding, probably, between digesting the truth and just focusing on this moment, the road ahead of them, and it takes a while before Chanyeol chuckles in response. "We don't have to come in early, right? I mean, it's not as if the horror house will be opening an hour earlier than the usual to make up for the missed fright days."

Kyungsoo plays along, digging in his pockets to get his phone and check for any bad news. "No texts from Jongdae." Just a call in the middle of their Chuseok getaway, and the vague acceptance that Kyungsoo is no longer alone. "So yeah, I guess we're spared from that."

"Do you… want to see my place?" Chanyeol asks. There's static on the stereo, the short period of silence between songs. Chanyeol's voice isn't as loud as it normally is, faint and tentative. "It's not as homey as yours, but I've got lots of food. You can cook them all just before they expire."

Kyungsoo snorts a little. Trust Chanyeol to know how to bounce back immediately, how to get past an awkward situation and turn it into something golden. "Do I get to take your toiletries home? Because you used up all of mine."

" _Hey,_ " is the only thing Chanyeol says in reply, and then it's a series of songs again, all from Gavin DeGraw's _Chariot_ album. This time, Kyungsoo sings along, even tries to harmonize with Chanyeol whenever he could. He's out of shape but he still gets to practice from time to time, while taking a shower or moving around his apartment, filling the gaping holes Chanyeol had left when he first arrived at Kyungsoo's place. Later, when they take a turn on a street that leads them to a more familiar path, Chanyeol says, "I love your voice. You should sing for me more."

"I don't sing for anyone," Kyungsoo counters. They pull up at a red light, and Chanyeol pouts at him. "And I won't fall for that."

"This, then?" Chanyeol says, reaching over to hold Kyungsoo by his nape. Chanyeol's hands are cold and his fingers are trembling and there isn't much time until the light goes green again, but Kyungsoo still waits, holds his breath, counts to ten until Chanyeol stops thinking and starts leaning in. Chanyeol licks his lips as if in invitation, and Kyungsoo breathes out, lips parting in response.

Then a pop song starts blasting on the radio and Chanyeol pulls away with a tiny jerk of the body. The light turns green. His hands are back on the steering wheel, and Kyungsoo can feel his throat again, voice returning albeit hoarse. When they reach a quieter street, he asks, "Do you have clothes I can borrow?"

Chanyeol looks at him, just looks at him for a while, before chuckling. "If you're okay with shirts five sizes bigger, I guess," Chanyeol replies, a crazy grin on his lips now. Kyungsoo shrugs not because he doesn't have a choice – he does, and it's asking Chanyeol to take a u-turn and take him to his own apartment – but because his words have left him again and Chanyeol probably won't hand them back without putting up a fight. "I think I still have a few from when I was eighteen or something," Chanyeol says after a while, and Kyungsoo switches the stereo mode from iPod to radio to keep Chanyeol from seeing the smile – too wide, too bright for the evening – on his lips.


	3. Chapter 3

Sunlight filters through the windows of Chanyeol's apartment. The thin curtains don't do much to keep the brunt of the sunlight from reaching the bed, so Kyungsoo gets up, inch by inch, until he finds enough strength to push himself off the bed. He scans the flat, Chanyeol's penthouse that's big enough to house three guests and three of their visitors. Without the scent of food wafting from the kitchen or Chanyeol's shampoo in his hair, the place _does_ feel less like home, more of a place they're staying at for the time being, except there's still Chanyeol beside him, lying flat on his stomach as he groans, "Don't wanna get up."

"We have to be responsible adults," Kyungsoo says. "Come on, get up. Come on–"

Chayeol grabs him by the wrist, looks up at him and pins him in place with half-lidded eyes. His bottom lip is jutted out and Kyungsoo repeats in his head – _not cute, not cute, not cute at all_ – but Chanyeol's rubbing slow circles on the underside of his wrist. "Five more minutes, please?"

Kyungsoo bites his lower lip and shakes his head lightly. "No." He pats Chanyeol's cheek a few times, then gets back to his feet, the sun reaching his toes. It was much warmer earlier, with Chanyeol's fingers wrapped around his wrist. "Get up. I'll just freshen up."

"Wanna shower together to save time?" Chanyeol asks, earnest, like it's normal to invite people to bed and take a bath with them the following day. His casual confidence resonates in his words, in the easy smile on his lips, in the way he wiggles his eyebrows at Kyungsoo like he hasn't just gotten up. Kyungsoo envies that, sort of, being able to bounce back to life quickly. Recovery always takes time for him; pretending, not too much.

"I doubt we'll even fit in your bathroom."

"We will. I know," Chanyeol says, resolute. He's crawling to the foot of the bed now, and then he's pushing himself up and off of it. There are imprints of the sheets on his face. "So?"

"I think it's a bad idea." I think you're a bad idea. "Really bad. More time-consuming."

"I won't play with the suds," Chanyeol assures, like it's actually the problem. He pulls his shirt over his shoulder and drops it near his bedside table, then pulls his boxers down. Stripped down to his briefs, Chanyeol looks smaller, less imposing, like the sunlight has softened the hard angles of his body. He walks past Kyungsoo, patting his back, and Kyungsoo traces the dip of Chanyeol's back with his eyes. "Strip. I'm not letting you get in the shower clothed."

He wonders how it would feel to run his hands down that slope, to touch Chanyeol and to be touched. With a deep breath, he slips from his clothes and folds them in a neat pile beside Chanyeol's messy own.

The bathroom looks bigger than it had been the night before, but maybe it's because Kyungsoo can barely remember anything past walking inside Chanyeol's unit last night. Fatigue from traveling was what drained them the most, but there was also the tension in their muscles from the hike, from the contact and the lack of it, from running around in lazy circles until they were out of breath. Chanyeol lets him in first, then reaches past Kyungsoo to turn on the shower. The water is warm and the heat from the steam makes Kyungsoo's vision hazy. It's a veil of defense that he needs in times like these.

"Promise I'll buy you a new bottle," Chanyeol says as he takes a generous amount of shampoo and lathers it on his hair. Kyungsoo snatches it, doing the same, but returns the bottle in the shelf. Chanyeol only laughs in response.

They switch places from time to time, Chanyeol rinsing his hair and soaping up his body, and Kyungsoo strains his eyes hard to keep his gaze focused on the white tiles, the way the water crashes on the bathtub, the shuffle of their feet in the tiny space. Chanyeol's legs are long and toned and the slide of their calves against each other when they move makes Kyungsoo shiver a little, but he pulls away from the contact quicker than the usual.

"Relax. You won't drown here," Chanyeol says. His voice is still low and rough, and Kyungsoo can feel a familiar cold wrap around his nape. It's not the water or his imagination, not when he can feel a thumb run up and down the side of his neck. "Kyungsoo, look at me."

He opens his eyes, looks up, takes a shaky breath. "What?" he asks, trying to sound annoyed, but he's certain Chanyeol knows him well enough to interpret this as anything but that. Chanyeol pulls him closer, then slides his hand down the slope of Kyungsoo's back. "I said, what–"

"It's just you and me here." And the rushing water. And the fact that they have to report to work, have to slip back into adult shoes and act like fright partners who haven't almost kissed, aren't about to kiss. And there's a sinking sensation at the pit of Kyungsoo's stomach that makes his heart race in his chest. And Chanyeol hasn't stopped staring at his lips. "Any last words?"

"Carpe diem," Kyungsoo whispers. He slips his hands around Chanyeol's waist and thinks, _seize this fucking moment._ If not now, then when?

Then foam slithers down the bridge of Kyungsoo's nose and Chanyeol cackles, face falling forward. Then Chanyeol erupts into a peal of laughter, and Kyungsoo finds the tension in his shoulders slowly dissolving. Then they stay there for a few minutes, steam sticking to their skin, the tip of Chanyeol's nose pressed against Kyungsoo's forehead. Chanyeol's lips are within reach, just a breath, a decision away, so Kyungsoo cranes his neck and lets their lips brush.

"Carpe diem," Chanyeol repeats, barely above a whisper. Kyungsoo pulls away and turns around, stepping directly under the shower head. He wills the force of the water to pull down at his cheeks, tame the crazy smile on his lips, but it's nigh impossible when Chanyeol's wrapping his arms around Kyungsoo, wet and warm, in the shower.

"We'll be late," Kyungsoo mutters.

Chanyeol chuckles, presses a kiss to the back of Kyungsoo's head, pinches Kyungsoo's stomach. "We won't be late."

So they rinse themselves and step out of the shower, Chanyeol with an even brighter grin on his lips, eyes completely rid of the drowsiness they'd carried earlier, and Kyungsoo feeling lighter than before. In the car, Chanyeol puts _Shiver, Shiver_ on repeat, and Kyungsoo bobs his head to the beat of the song. Chanyeol's light humming is the best part of the track.

☺ ☺ ☺

It doesn't take too long to slip back into old habit. Jongdae reverts the schedule to their usual one, except he's removed training duty from Kyungsoo since Chanyeol is 'a big boy' now. They're still doing the Plants versus Zombies thing after their zombie zoo show, but Jongdae's looking at mixing up fright partner assignments.

"I'm not so sure about that…" Joonmyun offers. He leans back, arms crossed over his chest. Beside him, Baekhyun has an eyebrow cocked at Jongdae, but he hasn't spoken yet. Post-Chuseok, Baekhyun is normally hoarse from karaoke and a couple of live shows in bars in Seoul. Joonmyun's a good enough spokesman for everyone, though. "Okay, let's say you put Jongin in the loco lobby with Baekhyun–"

Baekhyun shakes his head vigorously and Jongin raises a finger. "–and you make me stay in the oasis… I don't know, Jongdae. It's pretty sudden? Don't we need to build chemistry? I mean, Jongin has clearly developed a wonderful relationship with his bed already."

Jongin frowns. "It's an art, hyung. No judging."

"Sehun's pretty flexible but I'm pretty sure he won't want to take over welcoming duties, and Baekhyun's the loudest scare giver we have to he's perfect for loco lobby," Joonmyun continues. Jongdae exhales loudly, hands still on his hips as Joonmyun beams at him. Baekhyun's flashing two thumbs up, then gestures at Chanyeol and Kyungsoo who are sitting beside each other on the floor. Their knees bump, and Kyungsoo nudges Chanyeol in his side when he feels the collision numb his thigh. "And then you have these two."

"We have a name, _hyung,_ " Kyungsoo counters, but smiles at Joonmyun. "But yes, I agree with Joonmyun-hyung. Isn't it too sudden? Can we at least train together before doing actual shows with new partners?"

"Dibs on Chanyeol-hyung," Jongin and Sehun say simultaneously. Chanyeol glances at Kyungsoo, wiggles his eyebrows, then winks. Sehun makes barfing sounds over his shoulder.

Jongdae's shoulders fall forward along with the very small smile on his lips. His eyebrows are furrowed and he looks as if he hasn't slept too well in the past few days, but that can't be possible. Sleeping soundly is Jongdae's special ability, and it helps bring out his other special powers that he uses to drive away his own ghosts. Take that away from him and he's half of his usual vibrant self. Take that away and Jongdae is stripped to how he was back in third year college – lost, troubled, a bit broken.

"Alright. Whatever. I'll never win against you guys," he says after a while. Kyungsoo meets him in the eye, raises both eyebrows at him in question. Jongdae's gaze remains hooded, empty. "Two weeks from now, we're gonna work on the new team ups. I'll announce the new assignments over lunch. Now get going!"

Horror harbor gets emptied within a minute, and Chanyeol's hand on Kyungsoo's shoulder lingers before he goes on his way. Jongdae hasn't moved yet, hands crossed over his chest, and he's blowing at his bangs that seem to have their own life. "What's up, kid?" Kyungsoo asks, like Jongdae isn't months older than him, and that's when the tension in Jongdae's eyebrows eases. His hands fall to his sides and he closes his eyes. "You don't seem well-rested for someone who's just gotten off of Chuseok break."

"Monday blues, I guess? It's not even Monday," Jongdae replies. He moves a little, making space for Kyungsoo. It's not a tight fit – there's more than enough space on the edge of the table – but the air is thick and heavy and the silence makes Kyungsoo want to hide under a table. Or in a haystack, maybe, except it's not the best of defenses. "I don't know, there's something…" Jongdae's voice trails off when he gesticulates, hands moving wildly in the air.

Thirty minutes until the first show, fifteen until their run through. Ten until then have to do an ocular inspection of the place just to see if all of their props are in place. There's time.

"Spill," Kyungsoo says, bumping his hip into Jongdae's own. Jongdae yelps, snorts, chuckles, then rests his head on Kyungsoo's shoulder. "Come on, you can tell me anything."

"Nah, I'm good," Jongdae assures. He bumps his elbow into Kyungsoo's arm, grinning, and Kyungsoo answers with a light punch on his cheek. "It's just one of those days. Nothing ice cream can't fix."

"Eat breakfast first," Kyungsoo says, then pats Jongdae's stomach. Jongdae sort of flinches, sort of curls in, but Kyungsoo keeps his hand there until he sees Jongdae squinting at him, lips tugged in half a smile and half a frown. "I'm not watching you slave over work without having anything to eat."

Jongdae snickers. "Buy me food?"

Kyungsoo looks at the door step, at the clock, at Chanyeol peeking from the door. He exhales loudly. "Fine. What do you want?"

"Only you," Jongdae singsongs, but he eventually gives his order – _"Any muffin from McDonald's will do!"_ – lets him go from the tight embrace. Jongdae's hands are still on his hips, almost weightless, and then he pulls away and walks to the other side of the desk. Kyungsoo catches sight of the tips of Chanyeol's shoes before he even peeks in again. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

"Pain in the ass," Kyungsoo grumbles, but he lets Jongdae see the smile on his lips before he turns on his heel. Jongdae's laughter resonates throughout the hall, rings in his ears, and Chanyeol falls in step with him as they exit the horror house.

"You're really coming with me?" Kyungsoo asks, and Chanyeol nods, holds two thumbs up and winks. Kyungsoo only rolls his eyes in response, stuffs his hands in his pockets to address the thumping in his chest, but Chanyeol quickly pulls one of his hands out and threads their fingers together.

"I'm not letting them take you away from me," Chanyeol says after a while, once they've crossed the road. McDonald's is just around the corner, and they'll be hitting a part of town that's crowded any minute now, but Chanyeol's warmth, the way the pads of Chanyeol's fingers tickle his skin, is a force reeling him in.

"They won't," Kyungsoo whispers. The door opens and they step inside. Kyungsoo doesn't pull away. "They can die trying."

☺ ☺ ☺

The next few times Kyungsoo visits McDonald's, Jongdae tags along.

It means having to deal with the silence that chains the three of them together, wraps around their throats and keeps them from speaking freely. Chanyeol is usually the one who breaks the silence, bringing up a movie he's seen recently – with Kyungsoo, after his shift at Seungjin Toy, but Jongdae doesn't need to know that – or talking about some of the friends he hasn't quite lost contact with. Of all the names, the one called 'Yixing' is what sticks to him. Chanyeol had mentioned him at least once, either on the way to the peak of Geumhaksan or on their way back from it. "He was supposed to be my business partner," Chanyeol says, then pulls Kyungsoo by the wrist when a wayward motorcycle drives by. He keeps his hand there, wound tightly around Kyungsoo's wrist, palm warm against Kyungsoo's skin. "But then things happened."

Jongdae looks up from eating his hot fudge and asks, "Things?" His eyes travel south, locks onto Chanyeol's fingers slipping between Kyungsoo's own. "What do you mean 'things'?"

"Yeah, things." Like Yixing having to marry the daughter of his father's lifelong friend and business partner. Like Yixing wanting to keep whatever he and Chanyeol had alive, but not wanting to sully the family name as well. Like Chanyeol getting tired of all the uncertainty, so he flew back to Korea and decided to live a new life. Enter Kim Jongdae and his horror house, and Chanyeol had entered Kyungsoo's life. Kyungsoo has the details Chanyeol-Yixing friendship story memorized more than he knows Gavin DeGraw's discography. It's pretty alarming. "Complicated things."

"I like complicated," Jongdae comments.

Kyungsoo snorts. "You _love_ complicated."

When Jongdae stiffens, he snatches the sundae away and helps himself to a spoonful of ice cream. He takes another scoop, shoves it in Chanyeol's waiting mouth, and doesn't look over his shoulder to address the look Jongdae is giving him. He hasn't spent years walking alongside Jongdae to not know how he'd react to a surprise or to him doing something that's not in his roster of actions. He checks, nonetheless – Jongdae's staring, eyes focused, lips drawn to a straight line. It's not that complicated.

Chanyeol grins. There's still some hot fudge on his teeth. This, Kyungsoo knows too well – Chanyeol reaching over, fingers curling on Kyungsoo's nape, Chanyeol leaning in, closer, until the presence of the fudge ticks Kyungsoo off that he just has to remove it, Chanyeol waiting and resisting and _challenging_ by hovering like this, in the presence of too many people, because Kyungsoo loves challenges.

Jongdae clears his throat and snatches the sundae cup and announces, "I'm disowning you two, throwing up on your favorite shoes, cutting your salary by half–"

Chanyeol pulls away with an easy smile. To Jongdae, he says, "Hey, you can't do that!"

Kyungsoo takes a step back and watches as Jongdae jabs Chanyeol's arm, punches light and almost tentative, watches as Chanyeol laughs at Jongdae and Jongdae scrunches his nose in frustration. "You two are buying me another sundae, you assholes!" Jongdae exclaims, and Chanyeol snakes an arm around Kyungsoo's shoulder as he tries to catch his breath.

Jongdae's laughing now, but his eyes are still scrutinizing and his lips and his cheeks are still tense. The strain doesn't disappear until they get him an ice cream cone and promise not to eat from it, and Jongdae only nods, slow and deliberate, eyes focused on nothing but the press of their bodies when Chanyeol pulls Kyungsoo closer.

☺ ☺ ☺

"What do you mean you're kicking me out of the oasis?" Jongin yanks at the hem of Jongdae's shirt. "Hyung, you can't do this to me!"

"I'm your boss, in case you're forgetting," Jongdae replies, the smile on his lips tight at the corners. In front of him, Jongin falls down on his knees and pleads Jongdae to give back the post at the oasis because _it's home, and you can't take that away from me, hyung!_ His cheeks pull down, smile faltering, and he runs his hands through Jongin's hair for ruffling. "Treat this as… opportunity to try out something new. Career growth! Yeah, that's it."

Jongin mumbles a tiny 'no' and starts shaking Jongdae's legs, but Jongdae is unrelenting. "Come on, it's just a test run. I bet you'll realize at the end of the week that you'll shine even brighter outside the oasis."

"If the goal is for us to get an eerie glow at the end of the week, then I think you're doing the management thing right, hyung," Sehun offers. Jongdae flashes a thumbs-up.

The shuffle means Sehun and Zitao will take Joonmyun and Baekhyun's place at loco lobby, and that Joonmyun's doing zombie duties with Kyungsoo. Chanyeol has been assigned to the oasis, with Jongdae reasoning that his voice will be enough to freak people out, but he'd pointedly avoided Chanyeol's gaze then. "So we're doing trial shows only in the morning?" Kyungsoo asks now, head cocked a little. Joonmyun's practicing his zombie faces in a corner – they're still not zombie enough.

"The whole day. The whole week," Jongdae replies. He fastens his hands on his hips when Jongin finally lets go and gets back on his feet. "If the new match ups turn out to be crap then fine, we'll switch back to the old arrangements."

Chanyeol walks over, inching closer to Jongdae. "Maybe easing people into the schedule would be–"

"Everyone here's an expert," Jongdae interrupts. "Save for you, but you've been doing really well. So all of you are expected to adjust quickly. It's not as if you don't know each other's scare routines."

Zitao raises his hand, slow and tentative, but drops it when Jongdae narrows his eyes at him. "Yes, Zitao. I know you have all the scare routines memorized by heart. You can't deny that."

Kyungsoo worries his bottom lip for a while, then asks, "Jongdae, can we talk?"

Chanyeol's eyes shoot up, and Kyungsoo meets his gaze for a brief moment. He picks it up, then, ushering the others outside and telling Joonmyun that he can teach him Kyungsoo's favorite zombie look ("You mean his normal face–" Joonmyun scurries away, then, and shoots Kyungsoo a grin before the leaves). Once the office is empty and void of any noise, Kyungsoo walks over and takes his place beside Jongdae. "You're grumpier than I am. Something's bothering you."

"Nothing's bothering me," Jongdae retorts, but that's not true – his eyebrows are furrowed and there are dark circles under his eyes and he's _snarling._ For all of Jongdae's being fond of complaining, he rarely ever snaps at people or makes them feel like they're not wanted, not needed. Right now, in the silence of Jongdae's office, Kyungsoo feels as if Jongdae's trying to push him away with that look on his face. Jongdae isn't even touching him.

"Yeah, keep fooling yourself." He turns to his side, facing Jongdae, and rests his hand on Jongdae's shoulder. "Come on, we had a 'no bullshit agreement', right?"

Jongdae takes a deep, shaky breath, and exhales through his teeth. He presses his lips thinly together and balls his hands into fists, and he looks five years older than he really is. The last time this happened was– "I just need some time alone."

"You keep talking about wanting to be alone but you _know_ that's not what you need right now." Kyungsoo drops his hand to his side. His throat feels dry. "What's wrong with you?"

Jongdae pushes himself off his desk, but his knees give away a little when he gets on his feet. "What do you know about what I need, huh? What do you– You don't know what goes on in my mind, Soo. You don't know what I worry about on a daily basis, how I try to find ways to deal with things–"

"Because you keep closing yourself off!" Kyungsoo shakes his head, dry laughter spilling from his lips. They're facing each other now, a foot apart, but the room feels bigger now, like they're mountains apart and Kyungsoo has to shout whatever he has to say for Jongdae to hear him, to listen. "You keep everything to yourself – your worries, your fears, your _emotions–_ And then you expect your friends to just _know_ what to do? Well yeah, maybe we should, but if you've been closing yourself off from us your entire life, how will we know? We're not psychic."

"I just want to try to fix things by myself first–"

"That's the thing: you can't. You can't fix everything by yourself." Kyungsoo takes a deep breath, sucks his bottom lip in before he continues, "You told me before that for friendships to work, you have to let yourself be a bit vulnerable. You taught me that. So why won't you practice what you preach?"

"I just–" Jongdae's breath hitches. He looks away. His eyes say, _I'm afraid;_ the tremble of his lips, _I don't know what to do because this has always been how I've dealt with things._ Kim Jongdae, master of words when dealing with other people, but the worst wordsmith when it comes to expressing himself. His whole body knows what to say but his will is strong, keeps words from spilling from his lips.

Kyungsoo grips Jongdae by the wrist. "You just?"

Jongdae looks up, bottom lip caught between his teeth. "Don't look at him that way." A hitch of the breath, then, "Don't look at Chanyeol that way."

Kyungsoo loosens his grip and furrows his eyebrows. Jongdae's gaze is focused, unrelenting, and Jongdae brings his hands up, cupping Kyungsoo's cheeks. "That– That's not the way you look at him. It's usually more tender and– You looked at me that way before, like I was the only one you needed." Jongdae laughs a little, turns away, but soon he's looking at Kyungsoo again, a small smile on his lips. "All these years, I had you to myself and I thought, 'hey, maybe this is the happy ending I've been looking for all my life.' Then he had to come and sweep you off your feet–"

"The way he swept you off yours," Kyungsoo finishes. Jongdae nods, scoffs, snorts. Jongdae's fingers are cold on Kyungsoo's skin. "Keep talking."

He can hear Baekhyun's voice echoing in the corridor, but the thick blanket of silence in the room soars above the noise, runs a shiver down his spine as Jongdae draws their faces closer, their foreheads bumping. "Just one request," Jongdae whispers. His breath is hot on Kyungsoo's skin, and only then does Kyungsoo realize how close they are. He can could Jongdae's eyelashes if he wants to, map out the tiny marks on his face, pull the corners of his lips up, but instead Kyungsoo keeps his hands to himself. "Don't smile at him the way you smiled at me. Don't touch him that way. Don't look at him like you can actually fall in love with him–

"Keep your eyes fixed on me, Kyungsoo. Don't look at anyone else."

Jongdae leans in, tilts his head just so, and presses his lips on Kyungsoo's. It's not a strange fit – they've done this before, too many times back when they were in college – but it feels foreign. Jongdae's hands are cold on Kyungsoo's cheeks and his lips are rough, chapped, and he's licking at the seam of Kyungsoo's lips. It would be easy to slip back into this old, bad habit, part his lips for Jongdae and kiss back, suck Jongdae's tongue and the corners of his mouth, but things are different now. It's been years since they last shared a bed, last shared a kiss, and even during the standstill Jongdae hadn't said a word about what they really were. They're friends, sure – friends who get under each other's clothes, friends who suck face in the fire exit, between classes, friends who get off to each other's low groans but push themselves off the bed as soon as they're done – but Jongdae's hands keep trying to push a word between 'just' and 'friends' that his lips cannot enunciate.

It's like Jongdae's screaming something but no sound is coming out, so he communicates with his hands, instead. But sometimes, that's not enough.

"Kyung… soo?"

Kyungsoo's breath hitches, and he pushes Jongdae away when he feels his hands again. "Jongdae–" Jongdae's eyes are wide and pleading and saying _something_ , and his lips are trembling, and Chanyeol's at the door, mouth open, lips parted in question. Kyungsoo blinks, and soon Chanyeol is off, on his feet, hurried steps echoing in the hall outside. But Jongdae's still here.

"I'm sorry," Jongdae whispers. "I shouldn't have–"

"Hey, it's okay," Kyungsoo assures him, and Jongdae smiles a little. "I just– You've never been good with words. You should change that, you know."

Jongdae laughs a little. "You should talk to Chanyeol," he says, scratching the back of his neck. "And say something."

Kyungsoo widens his eyes, takes a step back, then chuckles. "You're the one to talk," he says, teasing, and Jongdae only rolls his eyes at him and gives him a pat on the back. Jongdae's gesturing for him to leave, to go and follow Chanyeol and, strangely enough, it doesn't feel as if Jongdae's casting him aside and pushing him away.

"Go, before I change my mind and kiss you again," Jongdae says for the last time. He gives Kyungsoo a pat on the ass, and Kyungsoo motions to punch him.

"You had your chance," Kyungsoo replies. He offers Jongdae a small smile. "And I'm making a choice now."

He gives Jongdae one last look before turning on his heel to leave, and locks the door behind him. He takes a deep breath and looks at the path ahead – a road that he has to take to combat the last of his fears.

He turns the knob to the zombie zoo and nods to himself. It's now or never.

☺ ☺ ☺

The oasis is blessedly quiet when Kyungsoo arrives. A pond to his left, a couple of trees, and a whole expanse of land in front of him. A bed stands somewhere towards the end of the room, coupled with a table and some chairs. And there's a teapot – Jongin has always treated this place like home more than an office. He shakes his head as he takes slow, quiet steps, careful not to startle the curled up figure on the bed.

He sits on the edge, and the figure stirs. "Go away," Chanyeol mumbles, then throws the covers over his head. "I'm a mess right now. You don't have to see this."

"Silly kid," Kyungsoo says, chuckling. He inches closer and pulls the covers down until they're bunched at Chanyeol's feet. Chanyeol isn't shivering, isn't shaking, but his eyes are unfocused and the corners of his lips are pulled down. "Hey. Smile. A frown doesn't suit you."

"This little kid is confused," Chanyeol answers. He looks over his shoulder, a corner of his lips tugged up just a little. "I'm in pain."

Perhaps Chanyeol best and worst trait is being completely honest when he speaks up. He's not completely transparent unlike Jongin, but anything he says, _everything_ he says speaks the truth about what he's feeling. So when he says he's confused and he's in pain, he really is even if his lips are in a weird sort of twist between a smile and a frown. When he says, "You and Jongdae don't look good together. There, I finally said it," he means it. When he asks, "You didn't kiss him back, did you? And there wasn't any tongue, right?", he means to weed out information and maybe something else, and Kyungsoo owes him this – honest words, a statement. Something he's been choking down for the longest time.

"I think Jongdae and I look great together. Our height's a match," Kyungsoo teases. He runs a finger along the curve of Chanyeol's face and leans closer, until their noses touch. "And no, I didn't kiss him back. There was no tongue. And there's nothing going on between us," he continues. The smile on Chanyeol's lips tugs up and he shifts in his position, sits up a little. Kyungsoo leans back in time, but he doesn't drop his hand from cupping Chanyeol's cheek yet. "And honestly, I think you and I look better together despite the, uh, height difference."

Chanyeol laughs a little. "You like it when I crush you in a hug," he says. He worries his bottom lip, then, "Kiss the bubu away?"

An earnest request, a simple answer. "Silly kid," Kyungsoo whispers now, but he leans in anyway, stopping just when their lips brush. "You're so weird."

He presses his lips on Chanyeol's, light, tentative, and waits for Chanyeol to part his lips. Chanyeol tilts his head back, sucks in air through the small opening of his mouth, then opens up, catching Kyungsoo's bottom lip between his own even before Kyungsoo can move. Chanyeol paralyzes him with his warm touch, fingers curling on the base of his neck, with a swipe of the tongue at the back of his teeth, with light sucks on the corners of his mouth, his upper lip, his tongue. He pulls away and licks the underside of Chanyeol's jaw, sucks on the sensitive skin, plants soft kisses along the column of Chanyeol's neck, and Chanyeol groans in appreciation, pulls Kyungsoo closer when he snakes his arms around Kyungsoo's waist. Kyungsoo tries to pull away to catch his breath, but Chanyeol makes it a challenge when he leans forward for chaste kisses, soft nips along Kyungsoo's jaw, a light kiss on Kyungsoo's upper lip. His whole jaw aches and his lips are sore but he hasn't memorized this yet, the way Chanyeol's mouth slides against his own, so he keeps pushing, sucking, kissing until he can taste himself in Chanyeol's mouth, until his mouth goes numb.

"Were you planning to suck my whole face or something," Chanyeol asks, chuckling through heavy breathing.

Kyungsoo laughs a little and shakes his head, but places a soft kiss on Chanyeol's nose. "Close enough," he admits, then rushes, "I can get addicted to you."

Chanyeol looks up, eyes bright and crinkling at the corners. The peal of laughter that spills from his lips is music loud enough to shatter the silence. Kyungsoo lets his shoulders fall forward, lets himself fall into Chanyeol, zombie make up staining Chanyeol's shirt. They'll have to retouch their make up later, and they'll have to help each other get into a new set of costumes, and maybe Jongdae will call them out for taking too long to get ready, but he doesn't care – the scare of the century has been taken down by the laughter lords and the battle has been won.

They've driven the ghosts away with the power of laughter. It's cheesy and corny but hey, it works. At the end of the day, that's all that matters. _This_ – the warm press of Chanyeol's lips on his, Chanyeol's blinding smile, and the way they snort when the bell sounds off, reminding them that they should probably get back on their feet – is all that matters.

☺ ☺ ☺

Before sending everyone home, Jongdae announces, "Fine, fine, I screwed up the schedule. Back to the old arrangements, you guys. I'm not letting Joonmyun-hyung do zombie duty, _ever!_ "

"But I did great!" Joonmyun argues, eyebrows furrowed and bottom lip jutted out. This look has gotten Joonmyun both in and out of sticky situations too many times, and Jongdae only shakes his head at him in response. Jongdae then turns to Chanyeol and Kyungsoo, mouthing, _don't ever let him in the zombie zoo,_ but Joonmyun catches on, traps Jongdae in a headlock. Sehun snorts, Zitao cackles, and soon Jongin is doubling over in laughter because Joonmyun is the last person who would use violence to make people agree to him.

"He doesn't look so bad," Chanyeol whispers in Kyungsoo's ear. Kyungsoo shivers a little when he feels Chanyeol's hot breath on his skin, when Chanyeol tucks his chin on Kyungsoo's shoulder. "Be honest: was there _really_ no tongue involved?"

"You want us to do a reenactment?"

"Mmm nope," Chanyeol replies all too quickly. He wraps his arms around Kyungsoo's waist, pulling him close and squeezing him tight. A few feet away, Sehun makes barfing sounds. "Unless that means we get to make out in the oasis again, then I'd be glad to see you two kiss in front of me."

Kyungsoo snorts. "I knew you were into threesomes."

"Maybe I am," Chanyeol teases. He pinches Kyungsoo in the stomach before pulling away and kissing the back of Kyungsoo's head. "I guess you'll just have to find out, huh?"

They're taking on cleaning duty today, and Jongdae has already done his last round of checks to make sure that all passageways have been locked. "Please don't think of tainting loco lobby. I don't want to see mysterious fluid there in the morning," Jongdae even says before he goes, and Chanyeol makes kissy faces at him before he leaves the office. Almost midnight and with all the lights on, the horror house hardly looks like a legitimately scary place. If anything, it looks like a house that hasn't been cleaned for years, except that the dust has been so strategically placed on objects. Props for art direction.

Kyungsoo gathers the mangled haystack and dumps the strands in a bag, then places it near the door. He can take that out tomorrow, when navigating the real backyard isn't much of a chore anymore. He wipes his hands on his track pants and leans against the wall. He can still feel a dull ache in his jaw, in his arms, can still taste blood on his mouth from where Chanyeol had bitten a bit too hard. He can still taste Chanyeol at the back of his teeth.

"You should stop cleaning up too quickly," Chanyeol says from the doorway. He throws a bottle of rubbing alcohol at Kyungsoo, and Kyungsoo catches it with both hands. "I'm supposed to distract you from cleaning. I thought we already had an agreement."

Kyungsoo chuckles. "We can sully the place again, if you want."

"That's got to be the worst pick up line ever," Chanyeol mutters. The smile on his lips betrays his words.

Chanyeol takes small steps forward, like he's trying to see how long Kyungsoo can hold out and not meet him halfway. Kyungsoo stays rooted in his spot, thought, back pressed against the wall and hands hanging freely in his sides, but he darts out his tongue, draws a lick along his bottom lip and holds Chanyeol's steady gaze. He can see the sharp rise of Chanyeol's shoulders, Adam's apple bobbing as he swallows hard, and Chanyeol's eyes drop to his lips, following the movement of his tongue. "This is stupid," Chanyeol mumbles, and then he takes quick steps forward, slides a hand around Kyunggsoo's waist and claims Kyungsoo's lips in a kiss, open-mouthed and messy. He licks the back of Kyungsoo's teeth, the cavern of his mouth, sucks on the corners, and Kyungsoo fights back, catching Chanyeol's bottom lip between his teeth. Chanyeol slides his hand further down, cupping Kyungsoo's ass, and Kyungsoo's gasp gets swallowed in the open press of Chanyeol's mouth.

"Seriously?" Kyungsoo asks, breathing hitched and heavy as Chanyeol dips two fingers inside the waistband of Kyungsoo's pants. Chanyeol only chuckles and slides one leg between Kyungsoo's legs, knee brushing against his crotch. "I hate you," Kyungsoo says, seething. "I really, really hate–"

"I hate you more," Chanyeol replies, then sucks his fingers in his mouth. He's looking at Kyungsoo, eyes questioning, and Kyungsoo nods slowly as Chanyeol releases his fingers with a light pop.

"Are you okay with this, though?"

Kyungsoo cranes his neck, licks a stripe along the underside of Chanyeol's jaw. "Yes. Anything."

Chanyeol works on the waistband of Kyungsoo's pants with his free hand, pulling them down a little, and he slips one finger between the cleft of Kyungsoo's ass. He rubs circles on the rim, slow circles that make Kyungsoo bury his face in Chanyeol's chest. "This is position's fucking weird," Kyungsoo grumbles, so he maneuvers Chanyeol around, pushes Chanyeol against the wall until Chanyeol leans back and slides down a little. Kyungsoo moves closer, bucks his hips when Chanyeol slowly dips one finger inside and moves his finger around to ease Kyungsoo into the sensation.

"Good?"

Kyungsoo takes a shaky breath and cups Chanyeol's erection through his pants. Chanyeol's already half-hard, and maybe he's half annoying with that knowing smile on his lips. Chanyeol pushes his finger even deeper, close to the hilt, and Kyungsoo tries not to push back as Chanyeol begins to move his finger in and out, each thrust slow and drawn out. His face falls forward, buried in the crook of Chanyeol's neck, and he sucks on the skin just above Chanyeol's collarbones as Chanyeol works in another finger. It's a tight fit, but Chanyeol makes it work somehow, the easy thrusts making it easier for Kyungsoo to relax around Chanyeol's fingers. Chanyeol curls his fingers inside, and he grins when Kyungsoo lets out a small gasp when he presses hard on a spot.

"I hate you," Kyungsoo seethes.

"Sure," Chanyeol replies. He kisses Kyungsoo on the lips, sucks on his bottom lip as he pulls out, then thrusts back in with more force. Kyungsoo muffles a throaty moan as he presses his lips on Chanyeol's skin. "I hate you more."

Feeling adventurous, he presses a palm flat on Chanyeol's stomach, slides it down until he gets to the band of Chanyeol's pants. He holds Chanyeol's gaze as he pulls one side of Chanyeol's bottoms down, and Chanyeol shucks it off the rest of the way. The sudden cold has Chanyeol shivering, but soon he's choking on his own breath as Kyungsoo cups one of his balls and gives it a gentle squeeze. Kyungsoo runs his thumb along the shaft, then rubs his palm on the tip, smearing precum on Chanyeol's skin. He can feel the light tremble of Chanyeol's fingers inside him, the pounding of Chanyeol's chest against his, the tension in his muscles and the heat of their bodies pressed against each other, Chanyeol's lips on his skin, and the pricking sensation when wraps his fingers around Chanyeol's cock.

"Kyungsoo, please–" Chanyeol's words are choked, muffled in Kyungsoo's hair. Kyungsoo starts with slow, easy pumps.

Chanyeol makes the prettiest sounds when he's drunk with pleasure, high on desire as he rocks his hips into Kyungsoo's loose fist. Kyungsoo begins to pump faster, strokes in tandem with each thrust of Chanyeol's fingers in his ass. Chanyeol is close, he can feel it, hear it in Chanyeol's low _ah's_ and messy kisses, lips all over his skin as he rams his fingers in Kyungsoo again and again. Kyungsoo whines when Chanyeol pulls out all away, but instead Chanyeol takes both of their cocks, guides Kyungsoo's hand in his own as he strokes both of their cocks in a slow, steady motion. There's no single pattern, no rhythm to this, with their bodies shaking and trembling with each pump of their fists, but Kyungsoo doesn't mind. The slide of their bodies against each other, the way they fit, the warm press of Chanyeol's lips on his and the way they move like they've know each other's bodies forever – Kyungsoo likes all of it, down to the way Chanyeol whispers his name again and again, like a prayer. _Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo, Kyung… soo–_

Chanyeol spills all over Kyungsoo's fist, lips pressed on Kyungsoo's neck. The flush of warmth makes Kyungsoo shiver, and soon he's coming on Chanyeol's hands, Chanyeol's chest. His vision goes white for a moment, head buzzing, but there's nothing but the sound of Chanyeol's even breathing in his ears, keeping him in check, keeping him on his feet.

"You still hate me?" Chanyeol asks for a while. Chanyeol leans closer, catching Kyungsoo's bottom lip between his teeth even before Kyungsoo could answer, and Kyungsoo returns the favor as he sucks on Chanyeol's tongue, then licks along the roof of Chanyeol's mouth.

"Very much," Kyungsoo whispers after. He can feel the slow forming smile on Chanyeol's lips as Chanyeol reclaims his mouth, hungry as ever. "Always."

☺ ☺ ☺

Chanyeol shows up on his doorstep one Saturday afternoon, down on one knee and a bouquet of roses covering his face. He peeks from behind the flowers, eyes wide when he greets Kyungsoo with a small 'hi', and Kyungsoo crouches in front of him. "I'm afraid the roses can't compensate for your lack of good looks," Kyungsoo teases, and Chanyeol launches an attack at him, bops him on the head with the bouquet but groans soon after because _the pretty roses had to suffer this fate. I'm so sorry, dear flowers!_

"What are these for?" Kyungsoo asks now as he helps Chanyeol get up with one hand, and the bouquet in the other. The flowers _are_ pretty, a nice, soft shade of yellow instead of the usual red or pink. He can get used to this.

Chanyeol laughs a little and leans close to plant a soft kiss on the tip Kyungsoo's nose. "You?"

"You're not sure?"

"I'm sure. 100% sure," Chanyeol says. He pinches Kyungsoo in his side, then makes a beeline for the couch, diving face-first into it. "The flowers can be for you dog, if you don't like them, but then you don't have a dog–"

"I like it. The thing," Kyungsoo confesses. He lays the bouquet down on the table, then fixes some wayward stems. "Thank you."

Chanyeol turns over so that he's lying on his back, then reaches for Kyungsoo's wrists so he can pull him down on top of him. "We'll have to work on your vocabulary. Train you to say nice things all the time! I mean, you can't talk like the undead anymore when you start working at the amusement park. You'll just end up driving the kids away. Bad for business."

Kyungsoo frowns at him and jabs his stomach lightly, but stops when realization hits him. "Wait, you said if I work at the amusement park–"

" _When_ you start working there. I'm not giving you a choice." Chanyeol tucks his chin, then beams at Kyungsoo when the tips of their noses touch. "Appa said yes. And _yes,_ I told them I was sorry and that I didn't mean it when I told them to 'suck it'. Happy now?"

Kyungsoo doesn't fight the strong pull at the corners of his lips. He doesn't swallow the laughter threatening to spill from his lips, either.

The transition from fearless to fearful then back again hasn't exactly been the easiest of journeys. It's been tough, an interesting mix of challenging and exciting, and maybe noisy thanks to Chanyeol's incessant talking, but he's here now. _They're_ here now – at gunpoint, with the wonderful threat of a new beginning pointed at their heads, like they're being forced to believe that happily ever afters do exist. Kyungsoo's old enough to know that they don't, but he's also old enough to know that there are times when life can prove you wrong. Tell the world that you hate working with someone and they'll chuck a worthy enough partner who will make you reconsider your views on teamwork. Tell the world that you don't need a weird person like Park Chanyeol and the world will laugh at you, bright and shrill, almost condescending.

So just work with whatever life gives you, do your best, and hope for the best. There's nothing wrong with a bit of magic and faith in happy endings.

"We just have to look for a location," Chanyeol says as he wraps his arms around Kyungsoo's waist. "Any suggestions?" He hoists Kyungsoo up so they're nose to nose, lips to lips, shoulders aligned. Chanyeol misses the heart by a few centimeters, but that's fine – Kyungsoo's got a better view here. This is a better fit.

Kyungsoo shrugs, but laughs a little soon after. "What's your car good for if we can't go around to look for a nice place?"

"Do Kyungsoo, always the man with a plan, now leaving things up to chance?" Chanyeol gasps, exaggerated, and nearly coughs when Kyungsoo smushes his cheeks with his hands. "I'm just saying, I'm rather surprised!"

Kyungsoo buries his face in Chanyeol's chest but keeps his hands there, on Chanyeol's cheeks, where he can feel the upward tug of Chanyeol's lips and the vibrations of Chanyeol's laughter. He laughs until Chanyeol tells him to stop, until he hears Chanyeol's stomach growling, until he can't feel his lungs anymore. Finally satisfied, he pushes himself off of Chanyeol's chest, meets Chanyeol's gaze and smiles.

"I figured I could use the change," Kyungsoo admits. Chanyeol cocks an eyebrow at him, but his cheeks flush in acknowledgement. He leans back in for a kiss and thinks, he could use one last bad habit to get him through the tides of change. So he kisses Chanyeol again, and again, and again, remorseless. Fearless.

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. While Scaredy Cats isn't real, it's actually a combination of two real places in Korea – the Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital (Scaredy Cats takes its location from this place), and a scary place north of Pohang.  
> 2\. There's no Seungjin Toy in Garden5, actually. Seungjin Toy can be found in Seoul, while Garden5 is a good hour away from Seoul.  
> 3\. I took a few liberties with the facilities in Kalbongsan Natural Recreation Forest! While they do have cabins, a nice garden, and a walking path, the food hall that I used in this fic isn't real.  
> 4\. You can reach Geumhaksan by taking the southeast path from Godaesan mountain's peak. The view from the peak is really great, and you can actually hold small picnics there!  
> 5\. Chanyeol drives a Hyundai Veloster. Check out this beauty [here](https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t31.0-8/10497157_10152405600918778_5401248507134645078_o.jpg).  
> 6\. Here's a [mixtape](http://8tracks.com/joonma/you-whisper-you-want-this) for the fic! :D  
> 7\. Many, many thanks to my savior, F, for the beta, cheer-leading, hand-holding – the works.


End file.
